Anyone Can Launch a Tesla knockoff - a list

[gophert]

This weekend, Dyson the vacuum cleaner company) and Kalashnikov (Russian assault rifle "company") announced they are entering vehicles into the market.

Dyson hasnt fully described their vehicle but they have already built a 10-mile test track and started adding engineers to their staff. They said three models will be offered - I am guessing a canister, an upright and a hand-held. I am also hoping they don't suck or blow like the rest of their product lines.

Dyson 10-mile test track...

Kalashnikov released pictures of a concept car. Unfortunately they are in a different time zone, so set your watches back a five or six decades and you might actually think it looks modern.

The business plan is to beat Tesla by capitalizing on their weaknesses. Unlike Tesla, the Kalashnikov will not come with roadside assistance or dealer-only access to repair and maintain electrical parts. Instead, The new Kalashnikov will be field strippable into 11 parts that can be cleaned, oiled and reassembled without tools. Look for YouTube videos from Russian dashcams soon.

This is the car, photo. Once you stop laughing you'll realize it is not photoshopped and, instead, the real photo and you'll start laughing again.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

That car appears to be a somewhat tarted-up Moskvich 408 or 412...
All the basic body panel lines are identical.

They were first built in the early to mid 1960s..

To be honest, what they have done with it is not any different to what some people do with 60s American muscle cars, cleaning up the lines and removing the chrome etc., A "retro modern" look.

[Edit - spelling]

 

[ronsimpson]

Kalashnikov

One in 5 firearms world wide is in the Kalashnikov family. If the old man (Kalashnikov) was running the company I would bet on him.
I have seen Russian cars. They might not start on hot days but they will start at -50C. They are simple and do not have a computer.

 

[gophert]

One in 5 firearms world wide is in the Kalashnikov family. If the old man (Kalashnikov) was running the company I would bet on him.
I have seen Russian cars. They might not start on hot days but they will start at -50C. They are simple and do not have a computer.

Ive had that discussion too. I lived i Germany for a while and my German neighbor was talking about the great firearms Germany made vs the crappy machining of the Kalashnikov. Then an old German WW2 vet spoke up and explained to his nephew how the tight tolerances and fine threads of the Luger meant a single grain of sand would cause a jam while the Kalashnikov could be packed full of dried mud and still work.

I was going to refer to the K business model for their EV that the loose fit allows the engine to work just fine at -50°C.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

the tight tolerances and fine threads of the Luger meant a single grain of sand would cause a jam while the Kalashnikov could be packed full of dried mud and still work.

A bit further off subject, but that reminds me of clocks..
(One of my friends is a clock fanatic and repairer).

Apparently French-made clocks have very fine tolerances and are craftsmen made, the mechanisms themselves almost a work of art.
Although such as antique mantle clocks are popular with antiques enthusiasts, the really old clocks are incredibly difficult to keep running as the accumulated wear throws everything out of tolerance.

By comparison, old American clocks (he mentioned railway clocks) generally run as well now as when they were made, as they use mass produced stamped parts with very loose tolerances and a hundred years of wear has no significant effect...