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Comment Re:Classic Musk lies, any doubt who he is now? (Score 1) 245

No, Elon Musk did not say he would put someone (a human) on Mars by 2021.
His public timelines for crewed Mars missions have consistently been more ambitious but never targeted arrival or landing by 2021:

In 2016, Musk outlined plans for uncrewed Red Dragon missions as early as 2018, with the first crewed missions potentially in 2024 (launch) and arrival around 2025.
Later timelines shifted: crewed landings eyed for the mid-to-late 2020s, such as "highly confident" in humans on Mars by 2026 (stated around 2020–2021), or more realistically no earlier than 2029 in subsequent updates.
Earlier concepts (like a 2011 mention sometimes referenced in articles) involved ideas around Mars sample return or plans loosely tied to ~10 years out, but not a direct Musk quote promising humans by 2021.

Claims that Musk "promised humans on Mars by 2021" appear in some 2022 headlines or social media posts, often as retrospective criticism or exaggeration of his optimistic (and repeatedly delayed) projections. These seem to stem from misremembered or misstated older timelines, like the 2016 plan aiming for people in the mid-2020s, but no direct evidence shows him specifying "by 2021" for humans.
His Mars goals have always involved uncrewed precursors first (e.g., cargo/landers before people), with crewed flights targeted for later windows. No verified quote, tweet, or presentation from him pins human arrival to 2021.

Comment Re:Deadly (Score 5, Informative) 181

"In November 2024 (Thanksgiving Eve), a Tesla Cybertruck crashed at high speed into a tree and wall in Piedmont, California. It carried four college students (all teenagers/young adults around 19-20 years old). The crash caused a fire, and three of them died: Krysta Tsukahara (19), Jack Nelson (20), and the driver Soren Dixon (19). One survivor was pulled out after a good Samaritan broke a window.
The key claim in multiple wrongful death lawsuits (filed in 2025 by families of two victims) is that the Cybertruck's electronic/retractable/flush door handles contributed to the deaths. Allegations include:

The power-dependent electronic handles (and buttons) failed after the crash/power loss.
No easily accessible exterior mechanical handles existed for rescuers to open doors quickly.
Interior manual releases (cables) were hidden/obscure (e.g., under a map pocket liner), hard to find amid smoke, fire, and panic.
Victims reportedly survived the initial impact but were trapped and died from smoke inhalation and burns, not crash injuries.

These lawsuits blame Tesla's design choices for turning a survivable crash into fatalities, and the issue has drawn scrutiny (including from NHTSA investigations into Tesla door systems). Tesla hasn't been found liable yet—the cases are ongoing."

Comment more than a quarter in 2007? (Score 2) 21

Key Notes on the Extended Data:

2007: ~38% (strong year, with Q4 hitting around 40%; Nokia was overwhelmingly dominant in feature phones).
2008: Peaked at ~38.6â"39% (all-time high for full-year total mobile phones).
2009: Slight dip to ~36% as early smartphone competition emerged (iPhone launched in 2007, but feature phones still ruled globally).
2010: ~32% (still leader, but Android/Samsung gaining fast).
From there, the sharp decline continues as we saw before â" overtaken by Samsung in 2012, devices business sold to Microsoft in 2013/2014, and post-2016 revival under HMD Global keeping it at 1â"2% (mostly feature phones and budget Android in niche markets).
Note: These are approximate annual averages for total mobile phones (not just smartphones, where Nokia's share was high in 2007â"2009 at ~40â"50% but fell much faster afterward due to the iOS/Android revolution)

Comment Boom? - We already have them... (Score 3, Informative) 28

Perth Seawater Desalination Plant (Kwinana, Western Australia) – operational since 2006.
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (Binningup, WA) – operational.
Gold Coast Desalination Plant (Tugun, Queensland) – operational since 2009.
Sydney Desalination Plant (Kurnell, New South Wales) – operational since 2010.
Victorian Desalination Plant (Wonthaggi, Victoria) – operational since 2012.
Adelaide Desalination Plant (Lonsdale, South Australia) – operational since 2012

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