this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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Privacy
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Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
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I don't have a problem with this.
Advocating to change the status quo, doesn't insulate you from having to live in it.
If you want a nice new electric vehicle, (any vehicle really) in the US today you're going to have to buy a spy mobile. No way around it.
In no way does having one mean you can't push for public awareness and government regulation to improve the current privacy environment.
You can call it hypocritical. It's not. It's pragmatic.
its not like you cannot obscure the unwanted cameras on your own vehicle
Nobody has to drive a "nice new vehicle." If your job is advocating for privacy, you should set a good example by driving an old car. (Or moonlight as an urbanist and ditch the car entirely, for that matter.)
Just disconnect the antenas. In some cars, you can even unplug the telematics system.
Sure but try doing it when you still have to pay for it.
If you don't practice what you preach, your words are shallow in my opinion, and you shouldn't expect anyone to take you seriously. And can we stop pretending like a "nice new electric vehicle" is a must? It's as pragmatic as having a Ring doorbell camera (at least from the perspective of a less technically inclined person), but yet these very same channels won't spare such "big-tech" products (which Tesla wouldn't classify as of course...). Ring cameras are technically (but not practically) restricted to private property, rather than a 360 degree camera roaming public streets; but yet you actively scrutinize the first, while remaining suspiciously quiet about the latter. Please come again, at how that is not peak hypocrisy.
I agree. I imagine he may have bought it before Elon went crazy too, when it was hyped up and one of very few options. We don't know though.
And, I mean, he's why I'm here now and why I have GrapheneOS on my phone and why I'm looking into even starting some local activist groups focused on data privacy and why I'm hosting some op sec parties with my friends to teach them more about all the FOSS and privacy focused apps and software I'm learning about.
To err is to be human. If anything, I'd want to see him use the audience to jailbreak a Tesla and build and open source OS to push to it to strip the tracking from it. Given that there's an even harder push now to include eye tracking, breath tracking, heart rate tracking, and more as standard in 2027 cars, that feels pretty useful to me.