r/worldnews • u/Not_Tom_Jones • 3d ago

Russia/Ukraine 'This cannot be a coincidence' — Ukraine's Starlink access restricted without warning, Zelensky adviser says

https://kyivindependent.com/this-cannot-be-a-coincidence-ukraines-starlink-access-restricted-without-warning-zelensky-adviser-says/
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u/CryMeaRiver2Crawl 3d ago

Stop buying Teslas. Now!

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u/Fullchester_United 3d ago

Ukraine should hit as many Russian refineries as possible right now. That should be their response.

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u/PhilxBefore 3d ago

And data centers, and a certain golf course in FL.

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u/SerenitysHikersGuide 3d ago

Why stop at just one golf course?

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u/sobanz 3d ago

without starshield?

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/box-art 3d ago

It's the most common electric car I see and I don't understand why, it is not because of price because they are not cheap.

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

A lot of it has to do with how instrumental Tesla was for helping EVs get off the ground. Between building a high-tech, reliable EV that looked like a normal car (compare to model S to early EVs from other companies like the EV-1, Leaf, or i-MIEV), AND investing in a network of chargers so those owners actually had confidence they'd be able to charge when they were out and about, AND offering that network access for free for some time, Tesla really did make EV a viable option in a market where prior to them they were more like a novelty car. Because of that, most people still think "Tesla" when they want to convert to electric, to the point where many of them couldn't even tell you what elevtric offerings other automakers have.

For me, the lack of consistency in build quality combined witht he EA-like approach to making you pay to unlock features that they alredy built the car with the hardware for made me avoid the brand long before the last election cycle. I ended up buying an Ioniq 5 last year. And thankfully now that Ionna and Walmart are expanding around here I don't even need to rely on the Tesla network for charging on road trips. Both other options cost less and charge my car twice as fast (v3 superchargers are 400V charegers and cap at 125kW, Walmart and Ionna are 800V chargers and I can hit 250kW, and the per-kWh cost is about 20 cents per kWh lower than Tesla). So yeah while I appreciate what Tesla did to bring EV to the mainstream, there's nough non-Tesla network support out there now and solid offerings from competitors that make them a har recommend even without the political angle.

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u/iconocrastinaor 3d ago

Tesla has also built the perception that - - despite its flaws and limitations - - they have the most advanced and capable driving assist software available.

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u/whatthecaptcha 3d ago

Meanwhile you can buy a comma device and have a fully self driving car for $1000

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u/TheOnlySnoringKitten 3d ago

I'm not a tesla fan boy but comma and fsd are very different, to say you can buy a comma device and have full self driving is wild and totally inaccurate. Even FSD on Tesla is not FSD 100% of the time.

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u/whatthecaptcha 3d ago

What's the difference?

I just assumed full self driving meant it can go from point a to b with no driver input. Never bought the comma because I don't drive often enough for it to feel necessary and when I do drive I just want to get where I'm going as quickly as possible.

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u/TheOnlySnoringKitten 2d ago

Comma enhances the vehicle's driver assistance, great for highway driving and can be useful for in town for traffic. However, you can't punch in an address like a tesla and have it take you there or pull into a parking spot.

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

Or I could just drive it. I don’t get why people want self driving cars so damn bad. But then again I have always been a car guy, into racing and track days, whatever.

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u/whatthecaptcha 3d ago

I mean no one is making you buy one lol

I found out about the comma a few years ago and haven't bought one. I think it's cool as hell that it'll convert any car self driving but I don't have the patience for that.

Would much rather have control so I can drive around slow people in traffic.

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

I have a buddy back home that put one in his EV6. It works really well but I have a lot of trouble placing my life in the hands of a third party device trying to integrate into the rest of my car’s systems.

His hasn’t crashed him yet in three years but yeah it ain’t for me

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u/whatthecaptcha 3d ago

I feel that. I watched a video a guy did going cross country with one and the only time he came close to an accident was in a bad storm and it would've been the other vehicles fault so it seems pretty solid.

I just have no patience for slow ass drivers and no desire to be in my car for longer than necessary.

Thankfully my state just passed a law that requires elderly people to retake their driving exams so hopefully that will help clear them off of the roads.

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u/cups8101 3d ago

When driving long stretches of highway there is fatigue at having to devote 100% mental energy. FSD/SuperCruise/etc. reliably controlling the car when driving on nearly empty stretches of road for hours reduces fatigue and makes long drives much more pleasurable.

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

I’ve done the Tampa-Chicago run with minimal stops and no rest period before. Do not recommend. For these I think even level 1 self driving like HDA (adaptive cruise, GPS assisted speed, lane tracing) is good enough. Anything more than that and it opens up the driver to a lot less attention-paying.

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u/cups8101 3d ago

Supercruise is the sweet spot. Adaptive cruise, lane tracking, lane changing and monitoring eyes so you watch the road. These features are just bundled into autopilot on Tesla so you get more than this but this alone should be an option on every car.

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u/gahlo 3d ago

That's because a Tesla is a status symbol. EV's are expensive unless you have easy access to Chinese cars. I probably see a bunch of EVs that I have no idea are EVs. I see a Tesla and know it's an EV.

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u/BilboTBagginz 3d ago

It's definitely NOT a status symbol. They are a dime a dozen out here in the west. I see more Tesla's on the road than any other make/model. That's not an exaggeration.

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

You try charging your Hyundai at a Tesla charger and tell me the people driving them don't think they're status symbols, lol. I had a guy tell me I needed to unplug and let him charge because "Teslas get priority at the Superchargers."

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u/drfsrich 3d ago

Tell him to go fuck himself.

/ Ioniq 6 owner

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u/Ghost_of_Akina 3d ago

I told him he was welcome to try and unplug it, but that I already took a pic of his plate and would be getting the police involved if he damaged my car in the process (NACS connectors lock onto the port while charging, for those unfamilar). He shut up and got back in his car.

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u/BilboTBagginz 3d ago

Oh I agree, but there's a difference between the people who drive them who THINK they're status symbols, and everyone else. And honestly, I think the supercharger issue is more of entitlement. You see the same behavior when people board airplanes (in the US)

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u/Rhywden 3d ago

In the US, maybe. Western Europe? Not so much.

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u/BilboTBagginz 3d ago

if I was in Western Europe, Tesla wouldn't even be a consideration.

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u/Rhywden 3d ago

They are a dime a dozen out here in the west.

That's what you said. "The West" is a pretty big area, dude.

US-Centricity strikes again, I think.

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u/gahlo 3d ago

It is a discussion about the US so... not really.

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u/Rhywden 2d ago

Ukraine is in the US? Nice.

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u/Ok_Midnight_5856 3d ago

Doesn’t make it not a status symbol. Gucci bags are expensive, still see em everywhere

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u/BilboTBagginz 3d ago

Expensive doesn't make it a status symbol. A new roof is expensive. A new gaming PC is expensive relatively.

If Gucci is everywhere...how does it dictate status? If everyone is special, no one is.

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u/Ok_Midnight_5856 3d ago

Then what’s your argument for it not being a status symbol? Because I agree with your most recent point

Edit: besides the Gucci point, it is most certainly a status symbol. It’s everywhere because people pay for fake shit for the status

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u/alinroc 3d ago

Expensive? Sticker price for a Subaru EV is less than what I paid for my current ICE Subaru 7 years ago.

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u/gahlo 3d ago

And I couldn't even tell you what Subaru has for EVs without looking it up.

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u/BufloSolja 3d ago

If it was the Ascent or something, or not an equal trim I could see that. Or some specific local deal that just happened to be good/bad.

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u/SkyPL 3d ago

Are they still? I would expect after Sieg Heil this stopped being the case. The latest facelift was made post-masks-off phase, so you can easily see who is fine with nazis.

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u/BlooregardQKazoo 3d ago

Yup, any Model Y with a light bar across the front was purchased after the Sieg Heils, so for a while I would flip off any one I saw. Then I stopped when I got sick of flipping off Asian people and possibly appearing racist.

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u/whatthecaptcha 3d ago

The majority I see are ubers so I'm guessing they're licensing them out to drivers here.

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u/itszaidbtw 3d ago

this generation is performative. social media post for likes and whatever is next. i am so happy i never got into social media, but it is also depressing since everyone else integrates it into their life.

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u/frobar 3d ago

The only people I see driving recent Teslas in Sweden are white trash. It's below bling bling Turks in BMWs in status. KIA had a massive upswing because of the Tesla stigma.

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u/gahlo 3d ago

Yeah, well Europe tends to have more sensible vehicles anyway.

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u/driverdan 3d ago

Oh it is, just not the status you're implying.

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u/gahlo 3d ago

I wish more Americans legitimately cared about politics than rampant consumerism, but that hasn't shown to be the case.

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u/sigmoid10 3d ago edited 3d ago

People don't like to hear this, but the Model Y is the best selling EV in the US and EU simply because it is objectively the best EV in its class. Elon deserves all the hate, but no rational person can hate that car after doing a detailed comparison. There are quite a few competitors from other brands in that class that all seem pretty much the same at first glance, but the Tesla has an advantage because it was designed from the ground up as an EV, while the traditional brands still recycle their fossil designs and production workflows into these cars. And it shows. They will catch up eventually, but right now Tesla is simply ahead.

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u/Long_Run6500 3d ago

Tesla also has by far the most seamless road trip and charging experience. The tesla supercharger network is a massive reason to buy a Tesla. Other EVs can charge at some superchargers but its clunky, not all tesla superchargers accept non tesla and you need to pay via the tesla app. CCS and other charging standards are a complete mess right now and are poorly maintained. If you want to go on a road trip with a non tesla you need like 5 different apps and you can never really push your battery too low because there's a chance the charger you're headed to is out of service. With a tesla you can be pretty confident in knowing exactly where all of your charging stops will be.

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u/frobar 3d ago

What's the psychology behind replies like this? If Ted Bundy was revealed to be behind a new ice cream brand, would you immediately feel the urge to set the record straight with a "People don't like to hear this, but it's a ten!" You obviously wouldn't buy it anyway unless every other brand completely failed at the car going from point A to point B thing. Not saying it's a censored point or anything, but why so eager?

Volvo EX40 seems to be the best-selling EV here, for what it's worth, but guessing that's some Sweden effect for that particular brand.

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u/sigmoid10 2d ago edited 2d ago

Model Y is still nr. 2 in Sweden in 2026. So by your definition I guess Sweden is full of psychopaths? But seriously, people comparing Musk to Ted Bundy shows how completely disconnected from reality these discussions have become. If you wanted to do an accurate comparison, you can no longer buy things from companies that are owned by billionaire narcissists. But I'm willing to bet you still do because in many cases, the products are just impossible to pass up.

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u/frobar 2d ago edited 2d ago

Lots of trash here too, though looking at it a different way, 8.27% of newly registered EVs so far in 2026 were Teslas. Across entire brands, Volvo, Kia, and Volkswagen EVs outsell Tesla. (Source, with "Drivmedelklass" set to "EL" for electric, all months selected, and "% Andel" for "% Share".)

Not looking to make it some country fight. I have no idea what the numbers are for the US or whatever. More of a lies, damned lies and statistics thing.

You gotta draw the line somewhere, and buying a Tesla is extremely far beyond the line to me.

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u/RealMr_Slender 3d ago

And it has all the safety and craftsmanship of a jerry rigged trash can rolling downhill on fire.

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u/speakermic 3d ago

The person I know with one bought it for the self-driving.

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u/kerridge 3d ago

They are pretty good value to be honest for what you get. The acceleration, range, and charging network put them ahead of a lot of similarly priced vehicles. Agree not cheap, and not really luxury.

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u/maxm 3d ago

No it is because, despite Elon, it is a great car for the price.

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u/box-art 3d ago

Even the cheapest Model Y is around €43K here, it must be that the other EV's at that price (BYD, Aion, Volkswagen, Toyota, etc) are not that good then comparatively.

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u/mrchillbro 3d ago

toyota makes EVs?

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u/box-art 3d ago

Limited ones but yes they do. bZ4X, C-HR+, Urban Cruiser and Proace. I don't know how they are, but I know Toyotas in general are reliable and I like driving them, so I'd imagine some of that DNA is in their EV's as well.

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u/mortalomena 3d ago

They are not the best range wise, but should be reliable.

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u/maxm 3d ago

But also they are just a joy to drive and maintain. And the assisted driving is really good by now. I hardly ever touch the steering wheel anymore.

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u/BufloSolja 3d ago

Afaik they have good performance for the cost, though I haven't followed it lately. Ofc there are more options now at least.

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u/Named_after_color 3d ago

They're the most big name long largest brand longest running electric vehicle company. It's easy to assume that the guys who have been making them at scale the longest make the most reliable electric vehicle.

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u/inlined 3d ago

From my experience, they really are the best EV. That wasn’t enough to get me to replace my 2018 with another Tesla when I got in an accident, but I definitely feel the pain of voting my conscience

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u/Conscious_Run_680 3d ago

It's cheap compared to alternatives, at least in EU where every Chinese car cost double because of tax and Germen and French cars are trash rn.

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u/box-art 3d ago

Even BYD's basic models costing over €20k is ridiculous, they're supposed to be affordable.

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u/Viper67857 3d ago

The others have fake grills so that they don't look so fucky... You may see plenty that you have no idea are EVs.

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u/techdevjp 3d ago

It's because all the other EVs suck. Rivian looks nice, but so many software problems. Endless software problems. Serious software problems. Lucid's software is if anything even worse. Porsche is absurdly expensive and their batteries have a tendency to die, an extremely expensive replacement. The big American automakers are still figuring out EVs but do seem to be making progress. Hopefully they keep working on them because Tesla needs better competition in the American market.

I would never buy a Tesla. Hell no. Not even a used one. I'd use public transport before stooping to that level. Thankfully that's an option where I live. At the same time....I can kind of understand why some people hold their noses and buy a muskmobile. They work well enough, have great range, and while the software isn't perfect it's leaps & bounds ahead of Rivian and Lucid.

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u/box-art 3d ago

I guess BYD and Aion for example just have not gained a footing here, though I don't personally know if those cars are even good. Toyotas and Volkswagens are also expensive, but I just don't know how they compare at that price point.

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u/thirstyross 3d ago

It's wild the only EV car companies you mention are the worst? GM did a great job with the Bolt, and you've got hyundai as well. If you only look at shitty car companies, all u will find are shitty cars dude.

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u/techdevjp 3d ago

The fact that you think Hyundai is a good car company is.....telling. Hard pass. And the Japanese automakers seem to have decided they aren't interested in making great EVs so there is nothing of interest from there. At least not yet.

The Bolt isn't a bad car but until the latest model year, it's charging speed has been embarrassingly bad. Even now it's way below Tesla but at least it's not maxxing out at 55kW. The Bolt is also built as an economy car with economy car materials. That's going to turn off a lot of people considering a Tesla.

I kinda hate you for making me defend Tesla here. I wish there were more competitors on equal ground.

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u/mrchillbro 3d ago

did you write this post in 2023?

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u/Ok_Midnight_5856 3d ago

It’s all in the marketing and publicity

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u/kntek 3d ago

Same in my country, there's a Tesla everywhere hell even my neighbor bought one and when I saw the build quality, I was kinda shocked that for 50k you get worse quality than my corsa for 16k. There's big gaps between plastic all around that you notice from far away and so many other things...

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u/tenuousemphasis 3d ago

I love my 2019 Model 3 but would never recommend anyone buy a Tesla, even a used one. Musk's complicity sure, but also the fact that you are locked into only getting your car serviced at a Tesla service center.

Especially now that all new electric cars in the US are compatible with the Tesla's supercharging network, buy literally anything else.

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u/lostlittletimeonthis 3d ago

politics aside, its the most recognized brand and what most reviewers keep mentioning still has the better range/durability i guess...personally i hate the design of all the models and the touch screen absolutism and of course the owner, but for a lot of people its the best bang for buck...i also dont discount that there is a lot of social media hype around the cars

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u/SpaceSteak 3d ago

I don't have a Tesla but have a few well off liberal friends who are still all about them, mainly due to the self-driving that is apparently very superior to any other system.

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u/Paddy_Tanninger 3d ago

Almost all of my Jewish in-laws buy Teslas while also being the people attending pro-Israel marches against "antisemitism" (antisemitism == people who don't like seeing Gaza turned into a graveyard made of rubble).

Elon Musk doing multiple televised Nazi salutes, NOT antisemitism btw.

Oh and I fucking guarantee you that if he said "we need to stop Israel from committing war crimes in Gaza" instead of throwing a few Seig Heils, my entire family would be boycotting Tesla for the rest of their lives.

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u/DespondentRage 3d ago

Pieces of shit who give zero fucks about morals are buying them.

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u/garyfugazigary 3d ago

All time high sales in Australia :(

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u/StoreSearcher1234 3d ago

Stop buying Teslas. Now!

I bought my EV in the summer of 2019 (still have it, it's still running well).

Back then I refused to buy a Tesla because Musk was an arrogant jackass surrounded by millions of loser minions boosting his nonsense ("pedo-guy").

Fast forward to fascist-chainsaw-Musk and there are a multitude of EVs to buy that aren't a Tesla.

(I do understand and accept that some people have to buy Starlink. Unlike Teslas there are not yet any viable options. Soon, maybe, but not yet.)

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u/Symphonic7 3d ago edited 3d ago

Realistically me not buying a Tesla won't ever make any difference, but for me its about principle. Meanwhile my friend and his wife just got a model Y for her and a model 3 for him. You can't stop rampant consumerism.

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u/ABHOR_pod 3d ago

Rampant consumerism will literally destroy us all and that is not hyperbole.

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u/this_is_my_new_acct 3d ago

You can make fun of them every time you see the cars. We're social creatures and don't like to be outcast.

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u/Gogglesed 3d ago

You can ask if they come with swastika decals or if those cost extra.

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u/Cool_Virus_8641 3d ago

hes a trillionaire. you can't vote with your wallet your way out of fascism

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u/dRaidon 3d ago

Only in stocks. if his stocks tank, he's nowhere near as 'rich'.

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u/tritonice 3d ago

Tesla has been grossly overpriced for a decade. Based on traditional stock fundamentals, it makes no sense, but there is a whole infrastructure propping it up.

John Q. Public can't affect Tesla's stock price any more than it can affect Musk by boycotting Tesla.

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u/an0mn0mn0m 3d ago

He has bills to pay like everyone else.

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u/feculentcuntfist 3d ago

If he doesn't pay them nothing will happen to him. Unlike everyone else.

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u/BufloSolja 3d ago

I stopped any intention of that after the inauguration. However if you read the article it's only for the Starshield ones, which are basically under US gov (aka Trump) control. So spacex couldn't really do anything there and this isn't specifically related to musk doing something fucked up again.

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u/frobar 3d ago

People are too damn fickle and weak-willed. It's amazing how many people are still on X too.

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u/the_card_guy 3d ago

There's literally an entire COUNTRY that still LOVES X.

I'm dead serious when I say, Japanese people LOVE X. That's at least part of why, even 5+ years after Reddit said "yeah, it's dead", X is still very much alive

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u/frobar 3d ago

I hope it's largely a language barrier, or it lowers my opinion of Japan.

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u/the_card_guy 3d ago

Alright, I'll get technical- it has to do with character count.

Because of the Chinese characters that Japan uses (kanji), they can express one word in one character count as compared to the same word in English taking up 4 or more characters. So Japanese people can use X to say a LOT, compared to English or other languages.

Really, it's a combination of that and the "switching price"- they were using Twitter a ton back in the day, and collectively decided it was too much of a hassle to change to another platform. Though Instagram and Threads seem to be almost as popular.

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u/frobar 3d ago

I wouldn't stay on the Ted Bundy social even if I got paid ten million a year for being there.

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u/lesgeddon 3d ago

That's not enough. We need to get the existing ones off the roads, or provide third party maintenance for them to get them off the Tesla ecosystem and open source the software. In addition to building public railroad, and nationalizing the existing private railways.

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u/IronDragonGx 3d ago

I hear there's some new AI tools that can do just that!

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u/Former_Ranger3529 3d ago

this is where the software decompiler guys need to get their teeth stuck into.

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u/HauntedCemetery 3d ago

Or like 6 years ago

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u/Beneficial_Hat_6288 3d ago

Teslas are not just cars! In Europe we have a plethora of domestic products branded Tesla. Do not buy those either!

I am assuming Americans do not have those in the US because I never hear any mention of them. But I assume if we have them in Europe there must also be analogous markets in the developed Middle East and in India.

And why stop at Tesla. There are also Coca Cola, Mc Donalds, any many more. Let's stop buying anything with a US label or made by any company headquartered there. Let's cherish our unity against the country who chose to bully others. Let's bear the inconvenience for the greater good. And let's not give them the satisfaction of using measurements our governments take as an excuse for retaliation - we do this grassroots. Spread the message.

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u/CryMeaRiver2Crawl 3d ago

Unfortunately people forget fast

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u/Beneficial_Hat_6288 3d ago edited 3d ago

All we need to do is agree on one single week when everyone everywhere stops consuming US products. Agreeing on the days and spreading the message everywhere would be the hard part - it would take a lot of effort and an immense sense of solidarity. If we could do it for a week we could do it for more. The big companies would get the message.

*I propose 25th April to 1st May 2027

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u/IHS1970 3d ago

Austin is Tesla heaven, I find it just disgusting to see tons of Teslas in a city that is BLUE and liberal, there are plenty of better EVs (I have one, not ever Tesla). Then there's the people like my BIL who is such a moron he doesn't pay attention to the world because it's 'too upsetting' people suck.

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u/Torontogamer 3d ago

Tesla sales are down from their high in 2023, but only about 10% ish, and it seems that Q2 2026 was better than Q2 2025... soo... that's surprising to me.