Michael Konen

@rohanspatel It's important to change your stance over time with more information and careful thought. It's incredibly idiotic to call your voters dumb. Why is our bar to be a politician SOOO low?! When are you running @rohanspatel ?

It’s totally fine to change your position and evolve for any number of reasons. It can be a sign of maturity and flexibility. Abdul is “pulling a Platner”. Instead of apologizing for his previous “defund” rhetoric, he tells voters they were stupid for misunderstanding him.

@unusual_whales Health is the most important thing. It's not even close. Don't put anything else above your health.

Lindsey Graham said he was feeling unwell after calling Trump but refused to seek medical attention, joking, per Axios: "I can't die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization."

@PhilipJohnston @verge Verge sucks. They cover so many non-tech things these days. They're also anti-tech. Publication has had a fall from grace. This story doesn't fall into that category, but still.

Yup @verge 👇 theverge.com/column/963346/…

@DillonLoomis @Tesla_AI Also the video has a very small section missing. Those are one frame a part. During the rest of the video its moving slower. A bit odd. I too would have disengaged, but seems weird its heading right for the green sign that it should be able to see just fine

I think saying Tesla's FSD was going to drive into the barrier here is a bit of a stretch. I know it's easy for us to say when we're not in the car going 66 mph but this is still probably something the @Tesla_AI team could benefit from looking at $TSLA

@ethanmckanna I used to really root for Uber. When they first started, but then quickly turned into a crappy company. Going against their drivers, crushing competition through subsidized venture dollars, dishonest pricing, etc. Looking forward to saying good goodbye

Three things that came to my mind that make this incredibly ironic 1. Uber's whole strategy early on was fighting against the systems which insulated incumbents from competition (taxi and medallion systems). Now they are the incumbent trying to limit competition 2. Uber has spent years minimizing their obligations to drivers but are now trying to invoke driver protections now that it is beneficial for their business 3. Uber tried to win the autonomous vehicle race itself but lost (notably allegedly stealing trade secrets from Waymo and causing the first major AV death)

@gbrulte @robotaxi More cars? Think its J94, J96, and J99. Correct?

Major major improvement in @robotaxi Miami wait times!! 4 minute wait time!!! 👏👏👏

@SawyerMerritt @Rivian I wish Tesla would make a SUV that looks more like this. I like a true SUV, not a CUV. I like a squared off look. I understand aerodynamics. Maybe one day. Or maybe not because Cybercab.

I checked out the new @Rivian R2 in person today for the first time. As a total package, I think Rivian really did a great job with this car. Here are my first impressions: Exterior: I think most people will have a hard time noticing the difference between the larger R1 and smaller R2, which is a compliment. It’s a great-looking SUV. Boxy designs aren’t the most efficient, but man, do they look good. It’s only when you get up close that the smaller size of the R2 becomes more obvious. The R2 is ~15" shorter than the R1. The rear drop glass is a cool feature, especially if you have dogs (there aren't any cargo area air vents). The 21" Performance wheels look good, although I think the 20" Black Sand All-Terrain wheels look even better (despite the 23-mile range hit). It has a native NACS port placed perfectly on the rear left side. The charge port door is shaped like a leaf, a nice subtle touch. The frunk is pretty large for a vehicle of this size (5.2 cu ft). The hood has some pretty firm resistance when you initially start to put it back down. While the hood isn't powered open/close, it does soft-close. Interior: Let's start with the trunk. As I said earlier, boxy designs aren't the most efficient, but one of the benefits they bring is more cargo space, and that extra space is definitely noticeable vs. my 2026 Model Y (18.5% more, including the frunk). In total, the R2 has 90 cu ft of cargo capacity vs. 76 for the Model Y. The R2 (186") is about 2.7" shorter than the Model Y. One thing I don't like is that you have to lean far forward and press a button on the on the top of the second-row seats to fold them down, or you just walk around to each side of the car and do it that way. Ideally, there would just be a button closer to you on the side panel of the cargo area. The sub trunk is nice and deep. The 120V outlet in the cargo area is something I wish I had in my Model Y, especially since my car doesn't have V2L capability. The second row had plenty of legroom, and the seats are mostly comfortable. However, I did notice that the top of the seatback protrudes out enough that it dug into my back, which was pretty uncomfortable. In general, though, the second row is a nice place to be. I've seen some people comment that the R2's interior feels cheap. I actually disagree with that. I think the material quality is fine for this price level. Yes, there's some hard plastics, but there's plenty of injection-molded areas with stitching, textile trim pieces, and wood. It's an aesthetically pleasing interior. The ambient lighting design is nice (although I prefer the Model Y's execution). The seats are comfortable, and the lumbar support is good. When it comes to the cooled seats, they work great, but I kept noticing a sort of low-level buzzing or vibrating feeling when I turned them on max. This is probably not something you'd notice while driving around, but it was definitely noticeable while parked. This was an issue in both the driver and passenger seat. The dual-screen setup is nice, and the software is quick to respond and relatively intuitive. I still prefer the Tesla ecosystem, but Rivian is certainly doing software better than any legacy automaker. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the adaptive scroll wheels on the steering wheel, but I love them. They feel create, and the tactile feedback is really satisfying. Lastly, the dual glove box/storage bin feature is awesome and useful. It's basically a second locked storage box. Self-driving: At this point, not having point-to-point self-driving like Tesla's FSD (Supervised) is a deal breaker for me for any car or brand. These days, nearly all of my miles are self-driving. It’s the ultimate feature. It has vastly transformed the way I travel. It makes long trips less exhausting and city driving less stressful. My 76-year-old mom goes on more trips now because she no longer has to drive. FSD drives for 98.5% of her miles. Every few weeks, I get a DM on 𝕏 from an 89-year-old who owns a Model Y. She likes to update me on her latest FSD usage, which makes up most of her miles too. This is a game-changing technology that is impossible to ignore today, and nobody but Tesla is offering anything close to this in the consumer market. It's been 1,000 miles since my last disengagement on Tesla FSD (Supervised). We have people in the community that have gone over 10,000 miles. The R2 vehicles out right now have the older autonomy hardware. Rivian's next-generation autonomy hardware suite - which will start shipping in the R2 early next year - will have 11 cameras, 5 radars, and a new front-facing LiDAR. Rivian said there is currently no plan for retrofits for current R2 owners. Something to keep in mind. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe did recently say, "Later this year, we'll have full supervised point-to-point, which will be very similar to @Tesla's FSD. That will roll out to all of our Gen 2 vehicles and, of course, R2." We will see. A big reason I feel a lot of people aren't interested in FSD is simply because they either haven't tried it or haven't given it a real chance. Driving impressions: I wasn't able to get any lol. Like the last time I was at the Rivian store, they didn't have any demo drive slots available. Maybe Rivian would agree to loan me one in the near future for a few days so I can do a full and thorough review (my DMs are open 😉). I hope the R2 sells well for Rivian and that they can make a profit from it because this product is really important for the company. I'd much rather Rivian stay an independent company rather than getting acquired by some legacy automaker down the line. They make great products, and I hope they succeed. More photos in the thread below:

@RubenQuintanaJr @Neutral_OC This makes way more sense. Because if he was frustrated, why pick up the remaining recycling stuff on the ground? Good to know. Thanks!

Former trash man here…if their can is broke or wore out to where they can’t properly use the toter lift they will crush the can and call for a replacement…I did it on the regular…either it was already broken or I broke it…he clearly didn’t neglect the customer cause he cleaned up the mess on the ground

A woman got to her home and couldn’t find her recycling bin. She thought it had been stolen until she checked the security camera and saw this 😅

@SteveSkojec Keep your distance. This is the beginning of the video. Probably not the beginning to the behavior. People in Yellowstone get way too close

Honestly, what the hell are you supposed to do in this situation? He wasn’t trying to antagonize the giant pile of walking steaks

@AP @JoeBrunoWSOC9

BREAKING: US Senator Lindsey Graham has died after a brief and unexpected illness, his office says in a statement. apnews.com/article/lindse…

@Gfilche Maybe only a few days away…

Starship progress is the only thing that matters for Spacex investors 🚀 $PCX

@SawyerMerritt @Tesla @DillonLoomis

Samsung Foundry’s Principle Engineer has announced that “the @Tesla-Samsung Al5 chip has reached tape-out. It is scheduled to be manufactured at the Taylor fab using our latest 2nm process and will soon be integrated into Tesla's newest products.” Volume production won’t start for a while, but good to hear things are still moving along. Picture of Tesla’s upcoming AI5 chip on the right:

@scotsrule08 Whats it look like?!

@themichaelkonen I have.

Tesla Robotaxi Cleaning Robot update: The Robotaxi Hub in Austin now has a cleaning robot built into the facility. Permit TABS2025022006 explicitly lists a cleaning robot in the scope of work alongside Superchargers and an Equipment Inspection System. Tesla teased the automated cleaning system last year. It is now permitted and built. The hub completed construction in March 2026.

@SawyerMerritt Who in Austin can drive by the address and check on progress? 5900 E Ben white blvd austin tx 78741

Looks like Tesla might have the vacuum robot operational.

@BenjaminDEKR Same problem with other networks. Thats why surge pricing exists to get more drivers on the road. With this they'll need to understand when demand hits and have vehicles ready. This is a small "problem"

This is genuinely interesting... but I keep getting stuck on, what happens when you need to be at work in 15 mins and "No Cars Available Nearby" ? (besides "nobody will have jobs") This is the main benefit of owning a car. It's usually where you parked it, ready for you.

@unusual_whales Freedom of speech!! What?

BREAKING: The Trump administration issued subpoenas to New York Times journalists who wrote about the new Air Force One, per NYT

@wxbrad What classifies as "Hot". 07/15 is "Hot" but 07/20 or 07/11 are not. Both have warmer overall days.

Weekend Forecast and 10-day: More chances of rain this weekend, with cooler temperatures through Monday. Some storms could be strong late tomorrow and again on Sunday. The Heat slowly builds back next week. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #wcnc

@Tesla_AI Next wave coming to US? First 3K FSD beta tester here from 2021. Would love to continue testing.

🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷

@ashleevance @thogge @sterlingmsnow can show you around

Speak to me of the most interesting start-ups/tech companies in Utah and the most interesting people. . .