Enshittification

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What is enshittification?

The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits. (Cory Doctorow, 2022, extracted from Wikitionary) source

The lifecycle of Big Internet

We discuss how predatory big tech platforms live and die by luring people in and then decaying for profit.

Embrace, extend and extinguish

We also discuss how naturally open technologies like the Fediverse can be susceptible to corporate takeovers, rugpulls and subsequent enshittification.

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Popup Ads in Your Pickup Truck? RAM Trucks Now Feature Scammy Ads on the Center Display (fuelarc.com)

submitted 1 week ago by KayLeadfoot@fedia.io to c/enshittification@lemmy.world

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What a perfectly garbage feature.

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[–] shininghero@pawb.social 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Slate is looking more and more enticing every day.

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

It's the only electric vehicle I've even been excited about, not even because it's electric (I would frankly prefer gas) but because it's a small truck. I used to drive a '98 S10 with a manual transmission and hand-cranked windows and I want a truck like that again but no one sells them - I was so disappointed when Ford brought back the Ranger but made it big.

[–] officermike@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Another upcoming entrant in the small truck market is Telo with their MT1. While more expensive than the base Slate, Telo's even smaller by nearly two feet, seats five, still has a 5 foot bed (that can extend to 8 feet if you fold the back seats), more range, faster charging, more power, option of AWD, more payload capacity, and significantly more towing capacity.

https://www.telotrucks.com/

$41.5k base versus Slate's $27.5k

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

That 4-second 0 to 60 time looks so tempting.

[–] Neverclear@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

"subcompact" truck

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It was, until I found out that Slate was created by an ex-Amazon manager and their prime investor is Jeff Bezos.

Slate was founded in 2022, and operated in stealth mode until it revealed the Slate Truck on April 24, 2025.[4] It was originally called "Re:Car", as a project within Re:Build Manufacturing, a domestic manufacturing incubator co-founded by Jeff Wilke, the former CEO of Amazon's consumer division.

[...]

Slate raised at least $111 million in Series A financing, including an undisclosed amount from Bezos. Several other wealthy individuals also invested, including Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, and Tull, who is a lead investor of Re:Build Manufacturing.

Per their Wikipedia page.

[–] shininghero@pawb.social 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I was concerned about that too, so I did some digging. I don't think it's anything beyond angel investment currently. No stocks (slate is private), and no obvious strings.

My guess is, it's to ensure slate sticks around long enough to be a target for future plans. Maybe an amazon slate fleet?

Could also be the billionaire class equivalent of trying to start a pissing match with the existing auto makers.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 4 points 1 week ago

Pissing match. Elon and Beez are famously pricks to each other. Beez often is an angel investor into any credible threat to Tesla or SpaceX, presumably, because pissing match.