Month: April 2018

Enlarge (credit: Scott Olson | Getty Images)

Reveal News, a non-profit organization based in Emeryville, California, published a story Monday concluding that Tesla "has failed to report some of its serious injuries on legally mandated reports, making the company's injury numbers look better than they actually are."

In turn, Tesla retorted Monday that Reveal is an "extremist organization working directly with union supporters," adding that the story "paints a completely false picture of Tesla and what it is actually like to work here."

Ars specifically asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Twitter whether he agreed with the use of the phrase "extremist organization" and under what criteria he makes such an assessment. He did not reply. We also put the same question to Tesla spokespeople, who similarly did not respond.

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

Dash cams excel at watching over you while you're driving, but most take a break after you park the car. A new entry in the dash cam market, the $349 Owl Car Cam, promises to keep an eye on your vehicle even when the car is turned off and you're not in the driver's seat.

Using LTE connectivity and your car's battery power, the Owl Car Cam constantly looks out for movement in and around your car and pings your smartphone if and when something or someone appears near your vehicle.

Some dash cams have external battery packs, and a scant few have LTE. But the Owl Car Cam boasts these features as ways to add levels of convenience and security that other devices can't provide. The company hopes users will be willing to fork over more money upfront or pay a monthly fee for the ability to check up on their car whenever they please—and for their car to communicate with them when necessary.

Honda

Honda spent the better part of the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s honing the simple. In fact, in the US, it was literally the company's advertising slogan: "Honda. We make it simple." However, it also ventured into the exhaustingly complex, as well, but that was fairly hidden from the mainstream. Remember its Formula 1 engines that shattered records? And don't forget how the company's roots in motorcycle engine development blew up engineering precepts. Honda combined oval pistons, V5 engines, and crankshafts that clustered the power pulses in a brief duration over the 720 degrees in a four-stroke cycle; in so doing, it created a kind of intrinsic traction control. To the racing nerds of the world, it was all fascinating, complex, and reliable to boot. Engineering precepts be damned.

But their road cars of the time? Mostly still simple. At least on the surface.