Teslas Must Be Banned From American Roads

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Josh Saunders has written for the UK’s Daily Mail:

This is the shocking moment a Tesla driver was filmed sleeping behind the wheel as his self-driving car traveled at high speeds.

Clint Olivier captured the passed-out male as his car kept-up with other vehicles on the busy Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, California.

In the footage, a short haired driver can be seen with his head against the window of the black Tesla car and appears to be asleep.

Law states that people using Automated Driving Systems (ADS), including self-driving and autopilot features, ‘must be ready to take back control at any time.’

The clip had been watched more than 138,000 times as of Friday morning.

In the video, Olivier and his wife Alisha Gallon drove alongside the vehicle and at times saw the car speed ahead of them.

‘He[‘]s totally asleep… this is crazy,’ Gallon can be heard saying.

Meanwhile the driver remained sound-asleep throughout[,] only waking-up at the end of the 34 second clip.

Currently 29 states have legislation related to self-driving cars, laws are individually related to manufacturers. While the remaining states currently have no legislation on the book relating to the vehicles.

There are five levels of Automatic Driving System, the first three all require humans to either keep their hands on the wheel or to be ready to intervene at any time.

Levels four and five are currently being developed but have not been installed in vehicles.

These new developments will not require any human intervention other than in ‘certain conditions.’

Self-driving cars work through a series of cameras, radars and sensors, which use radio waves, light pulses and imagery to work out what is in front of the vehicle.

From there the car can adjust its speed to match what is considered to be safe in its surroundings.

[Tesla] CEO Elon Musk announced in May that all new models of the 3, X and S, have full self-driving capabilities.

Other car manufacturers also produce a range of automated driving systems[.][2]

This is not the first time that this has happened, by any stretch of the imagination. It is clear that the Tesla is an “accident waiting to happen,” and that it must be banned from American roads.

American and international lawyers may gear up for major class action lawsuits that will put the company out of business—and have it join the ranks of the DeLorean, Edsel and massive numbers of auto brands that no longer exist, and are in the dustbin of automotive history.

Also, Luke Kenton has written for the Daily Mail: 

Dozens of Tesla drivers in California were forced to wait in an extensive line after what should’ve been a quick stop at a Supercharger station turned into an hours-long ordeal.

Shanon Stellini was travelling through Kettleman City on November 30 when she stumbled across a backlog of around 50 of the electric cars waiting to recharge in a half-mile line outside of at a station near Interstate 5.

‘Bet they wish they had gas’, quipped Stellini’s partner in a video she captured of the chaos – but for the drivers stranded in the stagnant line the issue was certainly no laughing matter.

The Kettleman City Supercharger station – located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco – is already immensely popular, but even with 40 charging stalls on-site the facility was still overrun by the overwhelming demand that one of the year’s busiest travel times brings.

To make matters worse, simultaneous re-charging slows down the speed of charging for everyone – encumbering a process that can already take up to as long as 75 minutes.

It’s unclear how long the Tesla drivers were forced to wait, however, one disgruntled commuter tweeted that he’d been waiting in the line for 40 minutes but only appeared to be ‘half way there’.

With Tesla’s Model 3 now being produced in mass, there are currently thought to be more than 400,000 Teslas on the roads of America.

But the surge in popularity has exposed a series of flaws in the Supercharger network’s operations this holiday season, which is sure to give the Elon Musk-owned company food for thought as the fallout seen in Kettleman City was not an isolated incident.

A day earlier, a video titled ‘Tesla Energy Crisis’ revealed a sizable line of 15 Teslas waiting for their turn at a Supercharger station in San Luis Obispo around 4.45pm on Thanksgiving day

Teslas could be seen wrapping around the outer edge of the Madonna Inn as families waited inside the running cars for a chance to refuel.

For a Model S Tesla at a Supercharger station, it will take about 20 minutes to charge 50 percent and 40 minutes to charge 80 percent.

Tesla’s website says that drivers will have enough to finish their trip on 80 percent, but owners can reach 100 percent fueled in 75 minutes.

Tesla’s Supercharger stations are described as the ‘world’s fastest charging network’ on the company’s website.

‘Supercharger stations are conveniently located near desirable amenities like restaurants, shops and WiFi hotspots. Each station contains multiple Superchargers to get you back on the road quickly,’ the company said.

It’s unclear how long the car owners waited to reach a Supercharger, but the video’s owner said the station was just given new equipment to help with the influx of holiday travelers.

‘The previous day, Tesla brought a Megapack that is said to be good for charging [approximately] 100 Teslas,’ the video post said.

Social media users shared photos of the Supercharger stations accompanied with Megapack chargers arriving to San Luis Obispo on Wednesday morning.

‘Megapack,’ a new massive energy storage product, was launched by Tesla in July and is being used in portable Supercharger stations to help bolster the company’s charging infrastructure.

Megapack will also be used in installations like the Moss Landing project in California with PG&E, which is a part of a new cost-effective energy storage project announced in June.

‘To match global demand for massive battery storage projects like Hornsdale, Tesla designed and engineered a new battery product specifically for utility-scale projects: Megapack,’ the company said in a blog.

During instances when Tesla drivers are expected to make long trips, like the holiday season, the tech company can roll out Mobile Supercharger units powered by Megapacks to several locations.

The US, parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East have a combined total of 1,636 Supercharger Stations with 14,497 Superchargers.[3]

California, in particular, has experienced energy “blackouts,” which have affected millions of its residents and may last for another decade.  Its electric utility PG&E has imposed mandatory cessations of electric power ostensibly to reduce the risks of fires triggered by the company’s network.  Presumably vehicles like the Tesla become immovable “dead weights” when this occurs, which further exposes Tesla owners to the risks of serious injuries or deaths if they are unable to escape the raging infernos.

Their limited ranges when compared with gasoline-powered vehicles, the problems with disposing of Tesla batteries safely from an ecological standpoint, the absence of dealerships that can fix Tesla problems, the staggering debts that Tesla has incurred, all augur for major problems with the Tesla.  There is also the risk that the company’s founder will implode psychologically as many of his fellow bipolar sufferers have done over time.

Will the Tesla survive?  The odds are against it; however, it is not dead and buried yet.  It has loyal followers—and vast numbers of detractors who consider it the “badge” of America’s ultra-Left and eco-Nazis, and concur that it must be banned.

 

 

© 2019, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/timothy-d.-naegele-resume-20-1-1.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7387827/Tesla-driver-filmed-ASLEEP-wheel-self-driving-car-travels-high-speeds-LA.html (“Shocking moment a Tesla driver is filmed ASLEEP behind the wheel as his self-driving car travels at high speeds on the California interstate“); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-15896 (“Tesla Is An Accident Waiting To Happen, And Cannot Go Out Of Business Fast Enough”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-14734 (“Is The End Near For Elon Musk And Tesla?”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-14554 (“Are Elon Musk And Tesla Imploding?”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-14477 (“FEDS INTENSIFY TESLA PROBE”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-13481 (“The Musk-Tesla Bubble!”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-12656 (“Huckster Tesla Founder Rewarded”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-10525 (“The Swindle And Shame Of Global Warming: Electric Cars “) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/#comment-21046 (“(“Teslas: Accidents Waiting To Happen”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/abortions-and-autos-kill-more-in-america-than-guns/#comment-16844 (“Tesla On The Brink Of Failure“) and http://www.dickmorris.com/legal-pot-sends-highway-deaths-soaring-lunch-alert/ (“Legal Pot Sends Highway Deaths Soaring“)

[3]  See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7755753/Chaos-California-Tesla-drivers-stranded-hours-half-mile-long-line-charge.htm (“‘Bet they wish they had gas!’ Chaos in California as Tesla drivers are stranded for hours in a half-a-mile-long line to charge their cars on Black Friday”)

It is worthwhile reading the “best” reader comments beneath this article. 

Lawyers And Internet Scams

By Timothy D. Naegele[1][2]

Approximately 35 years ago, I ran into my first serious scam or scheme when I was a partner of a Washington, D.C. law firm, after having worked in the U.S. Senate for three and a half years. At that time, the Saudis were swimming in oil money; and I was told they needed safe places to invest in the U.S. We arranged for a billion dollar investment “on their behalf” with an American quasi-government agency, only to find that the Saudi “agent” was nothing more than a moneyman trying to pitch the deal simultaneously to the Saudis and Americans. Fortunately, we did not lose any money.

Fast forward to last year, and I was approached by an “Asian company” that purportedly wanted an American law firm to represent it in collecting monies due from its “delinquent” U.S. customers. A fee agreement was prepared, and an upfront retainer was agreed upon; and next I was told that a customer had agreed to pay what was due rather than contest it, and would be sending a cashier’s check to my firm. Our retainer was to be deducted, with the balance being remitted by wire transfer to Asia.

Having represented approximately 200 banks over the years, I was wary of the transaction, and even more so when the check arrived and its appearance was not that of most cashier’s checks that I had seen. To its credit, the State Bar of California had an article in its California Bar Journal that I read, describing such transactions in detail as being bogus.[3] The scam went like this. The lawyer would deposit the check in his or her bank account, without knowing that the bank’s routing number was incorrect at the bottom of the check. Thus, the check would go into the bank’s check clearing system, and effectively get “lost” for a while because of the incorrect routing number; and the Asian company would be demanding payment.

Unbeknownst to most Americans, including lawyers, the fine print in bank checking agreements allows a bank to charge back a bogus check to its customer’s account almost without any time limitation. Thus, an unsuspecting lawyer would believe the Asian company’s check had cleared, and would wire the funds to its “client,” only to find that its friendly American banker was demanding that good funds be deposited to replace the wired funds.

I have been told that these and similar scams are run out of Canada and elsewhere, by Nigerians and others, who have profited to the tune of approximately $150 million. Despite the fervent hope of “green shoots” and an upturn in the U.S. and global economies, we may witness even worse economic times ahead, during the balance of this decade.[4] Thus, scams are apt to be more prevalent than ever.

There are romance scams, which seek the wiring of monies too; and the list goes on and on, seemingly only limited by the scammers’ imagination and the gullibility of Americans and others.[5] Yes, there are government agencies that are charged with preventing such wrongdoing and apprehending the wrongdoers, but I am not aware of any significant successes to date. In fact, the number of lawyers and law firms that have been scammed—and have lost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars with each transaction—continues to grow.

Based on my experiences, I recommend to anyone who needs more information that they contact the Internet Fraud Center of ScamWarners, which seeks “to protect, inform and assist victims and potential victims of internet fraud.”[6] They are the best that I have seen, and they are free; and they are better than most if not all the government agencies that try to protect us. Put simply, beware of anything that is too good to be true—because it is, certainly in the case of the scams.  I never cease to be amazed by the number of lawyers who keep getting scammed significantly, which may put a smile on the faces of many non-lawyers.

© 2010, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass), the first black senator since Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War.  He practices law in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates (www.naegele.com).  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal.  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years.  See, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles

[2] This article was prompted by a fine Wall Street Journal article (see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126490149294538081.html), which does not address the specific issues discussed in this article but nonetheless “inspired” me to finally write about Internet scams that are sweeping the U.S. and other countries.

[3] See http://calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_cbj.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/Attorney%20Resources/California%20Bar%20Journal/July2009&sCatHtmlPath=cbj/2009-07_TH_01_scams.html&sCatHtmlTitle=Top%20Headlines; see also http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_cbj.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/Attorney%20Resources/California%20Bar%20Journal/July2008&sCatHtmlPath=cbj/2008-07_TH_01_Internet-Scam.html&sCatHtmlTitle=Top%20Headlines

Both of these are fine articles by Diane Curtis, who must be praised for her truly excellent trail-blazing work on this important issue for lawyers nationwide—and worldwide, because lawyers in other countries are being scammed too.  While hopefully her articles have reached and been read by lawyers in California, the fact remains that lawyers in other States are being scammed on a regular basis, and they have no knowledge or forewarning about such scams.

[4] See, e.g., http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/173_212/-365185-1.html and http://www.realclearpolitics.com/news/tms/politics/2009/Apr/08/euphoria_or_the_obama_depression_.html

[5] See, e.g. http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5

[6] See http://www.scamwarners.com