Users see the word “Tesla” and hit the down arrow without considering context or data. Tesla is a terrible company, and Musk is an egotistical, racist manbaby; those aren’t the only reasons why I won’t buy a Tesla, but they are a big part. The truth is that every big automobile manufacturer is bad when it comes to infotainment user experience and data privacy.

I won’t buy a Tesla, and most people I know won’t either. But when it comes to the US auto market, Tesla is consistently rated as one of the best user infotainment experiences, specifically because of the things you mentioned. I know someone who bought the 2026 Nissan Leaf, and they love it. I’ve ridden in it a lot and I think it’s a great car… except for the user experience. Every time the car is turned on a pop up covers most of the console advertising satellite radio subscriptions. There’s no way to disable it. Nissan is widely known to be the worst when it comes to user privacy, too.

Slate has my attention and I want them to disrupt the market. I’m considering buying one for my next vehicle, with the range being the only thing that hasn’t locked in my decision yet. I take several long (500+ miles) trips each year, and I would prefer to avoid having to use Tesla superchargers as there aren’t any other fast DC chargers along the route.

I’m not sure about plasma because I’m not a donor; I only know how much you can make in this area from coworkers who donate twice a week.

Back when I used to donate platelets, I definitely noticed that I wasn’t able to work out as hard and became fatigued more easily for a day or two afterward. I would usually eat a lot of beans and nuts, drink lots of water, and take a multi-vitamin right after my donation to help replenish my lost platelets. It’s likely something similar for blood plasma: lots of water, protein, iron/zinc/copper.

99% of leftist stop infighting right before the movement becomes pure enough!

In my area you can make over $400/month selling your plasma.

Whole blood is not sold for profit, but organizations do charge hospitals a handling fee to cover operational costs… but I just realized as I was typing this that you aren’t talking about the organizations that collect blood, but the hospitals.

I looked up what it generally costs for a one-unit (1pt, ~470ml) blood transfusion, and it’s over $2000! I’d like to think that all the blood and platelet donations I’ve made over the years had saved lives, which objectively they probably did. But now knowing how much hospitals and insurance companies are profiting off of the act of donating makes it feel less like a selfless act of compassion and more like cattle being herded into a milking parlor.

I used to donate platelets every two weeks, but I haven’t gone in a few years. The last time I went was beginning of 2024; at that time they still asked all the same questions.

I would wager that this is going to become a test case that is intended to appeal it’s way to the SCotUS. The SCotUS has already ruled that many constitutional protections are waived at the border, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that is the intended outcome.

Land of the Free™