The best EV in history, including being the first mass-produced and best-selling, is getting a major refresh. But perhaps most notable is how Nissan talks about the changes it is making to LEAF manufacturing and why.

…Nissan is ramping up efforts to source renewable energy locally. Currently, 20% of the factory’s energy usage – which totals around 350MW a week – comes from on-site wind and solar farms. The firm wants to boost this to 100%, but has not given a timeframe for achieving that.

Asked why Nissan chose to stick with Sunderland in light of the increased costs, Johnson said: “We are here. We’ve got an asset here. That’s not just facilities. That’s also the people. Therefore, it is in our interest to get the best out of the assets that we have.”

There’s an independence and science behind this car company, which could be why the LEAF turns in close to 100% owner satisfaction in Norway where people only drive EV.

…a data-driven efficiency push – as a key factor in the factory’s ongoing viability…

Data-driven humanists, as if to say they are practicing social science. It’s the future.

People love this car and the maker clearly loves people.

The divergence between the right and the far-right is stark, perhaps exemplified most vividly in France by Marine Le Pen and the extremist party Rassemblement National.

…from 2015 to 2017, [Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old president of the far-right Rassemblement National party] used the pseudonym “RepNat du Gaito” on Twitter, now X, to share racist messages and celebrate Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of the RN’s ancestor party the Front National (FN). The last post from that account, dated February 2017, is an obscene image mocking Théo Luhaka, a young Black man who suffered severe anal injuries from a police baton that year, in an assault for which three policemen are now on trial.

Twitter. Hold that thought.

On the right of center, one expects conservatism rooted in values unlikely to be changed, embracing open markets and closed nationalism. However, the far-right, epitomized by Le Pen’s party, takes a drastic step away from holding on to traditions towards permanent improvisation and disregard for law and order. It champions stringent immigration policies and exclusivity rhetoric that veer sharply away from democratic norms and towards dictatorship.

Here lies the chasm: while leaning right in politics means democratic principles are adhered to, the far-right threatens to end democracy, often advocating for exclusionary measures meant to harm marginalized groups and destroy regulatory integrity.

Le Pen’s Rassemblement National tries to blur lines with political camouflage in a fusion of conservative ideals and far-right nationalism, yet there’s no room for ambiguity with her love of dictatorship. It’s a reminder of the unmistakable contrast between upholding democratic values and venturing into the realm of extremism.

Back in 2022, someone in particular seemed to understand this bright line of extremism, the need to maintain the line, and tweeted about it without reservation.

And yet in 2024, after extensive evidence has surfaced of Elon Musk in communication with Nazi politicians in Germany, he now plays dumb by claiming suddenly to not understand what extreme or “far” right means.

Playing dumb in this context is rhetorical manipulation and deflection. False ignorance about what makes Le Pen “far” right means Elon Musk is downplaying and sanitizing her anti-democracy political positions.

It deflects attention away from the obviously controversial aspects of her extreme ideology, trying hard to make her appear less radical or alarming than she really is.

France’s Assemblée Nationale has banned a far-right MP from parliament for two weeks for a racist outburst after he shouted “Go back to Africa” when a black member of the lower house was speaking about migrants. Grégoire de Fournas, a member of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), or National Rally, will also lose half his salary for two months… the most severe sanction available to the house. [House speaker] Braun-Pivet ordered the MP to leave the lower house on Friday. “We must not weaken our democracy,” she said.

Elon Musk’s tactic aims to create doubt or confusion, undermining the legitimacy of criticisms leveled against Le Pen and her party. By feigning ignorance, Musk wants the conversation to move away from substantive issues and towards minute technicalities in semantics, thereby avoiding a proper deeper examination of Le Pen’s horrible political beliefs and their dangerous implications.

1. Xenophobia and Racism: Le Pen and her party, Rassemblement National, are known for xenophobic and racist rhetoric. Their immigration hate speeches, often portrayed in terms of purity in French identity, are classified as discriminatory and exclusionary. Critics argue such rhetoric fosters division, intolerance and violent conflict within French society.
2. Authoritarianism: Another significant criticism of Le Pen is authoritarian tendencies. Her stance on security and law enforcement veer towards prioritizing control over individual liberties. Additionally, her advocacy for measures like the dissolution of certain institutions and the concentration of power in the executive branch are meant to erode democracy.
3. Economic Protectionism: Her party is characterized by protectionism and economic nationalism. Her proposals, such as withdrawing from the European Union and imposing trade barriers, would seriously harm the French economy by reducing international competitiveness and disrupting global trade relations. Moreover, her proposals to prioritize French companies and workers over foreign competitors are viewed as shortsighted and detrimental to long-term economic growth.

In contrast, Giorgia Meloni (leader of Fratelli d’Italia) has allegedly distanced her party from fascism and emphasized instead a commitment to democracy and rule of law. That being said, building ties with Le Pen undermines all of that. And the Financial Times looked at her and found “Meloni takes Italian far-right back to 1930s roots“, not to mention her open association with far-right extremist groups in America.

The part of this story where a Tesla erratically changes speed and veers, even trying to steer out of a PIT and keep going, seems like it might offer some Autopilot clues.

The callers told the dispatch that the Tesla was swerving in and out of its lane, changing its speed drastically, and nearly hit other drivers, an FHP arrest report said.

A trooper pursuing the vehicle said the Tesla even sideswiped a concrete wall and began speeding up to 80 mph when the trooper initiated a traffic stop.

“The vehicle was driving erratically all over the road, almost striking other motorists, which highlighted the need to get the vehicle stopped urgently,” the trooper wrote. “I [conducted] a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle, but the driver steered out of it and kept going. I was forced to conduct a second, more aggressive PIT maneuver to finally get the vehicle stopped at northbound I-275 milepost 45.”

Note these points:

• Police described the owner as “just confused about what was going on” as if not driving the car
• The Tesla reportedly “was driving erratically… almost striking other motorists”. Almost. Not striking them. Just almost.
• The Tesla sped up to 80 when police flashed lights to initiate a stop, not quite evading them but rather trying to move forward as if they had just cleared the road ahead. Likewise they described the first PIT attempt as “steered out of it and kept going”

Architectural Record has posted a fascinating look at some of the reasons behind American housing shortages and high rates of harm to renters.

Why, then, did the U.S. embark upon a path so different from Europe’s? Quite simply, there was a radical divergence in fire-safety approaches during the 20th century and insufficient exchange of best practices. As Stephen Smith, director of the North American Center for Building, argues, American approaches aim to make combustible light wood-frame buildings easier to escape by providing multiple paths of egress; European codes, by contrast, require fire-resistant materials and compartmentation to prevent fires from spreading in the first place. Statistically, the evidence is clear: fire-death rates are consistently lower in Europe than in the U.S. and Canada.