Reader Question: Starlink vs. Elon?

Here’s the latest reader question, along with my reply! 

Vonu asks: Why does Starlink, which dwarfs everything else that Elon Musk is doing, not get any ink?

My reply: It has – from me!

I’ve written about Subaru’s take on the in-car Big Brother several times – including an article about the latest iteration, which “bundles” the Starlink system (which is similar to GM’s OnStar system) with Eyesight – a suite of creepy sssssssssssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaafety tech that uses facial recognition to identify and monitor the driver .

Starlink/OnStar and the others – every major car company has a system along these lines – can keep track of your driving habits in real time and could easily narc you out to the insurance mafia for every instance of “aggressive” acceleration as well as “speeding” and simply disable your vehicle whenever that’s desired.

Elon’s cars do this too, of course – or at least, could.

The object is to make it impossible for anyone to drive a car that doesn’t.

Many people are unaware of the fact that even their conversations may not be private. These systems include in-car microphones and these could be on (or turned on) without the vehicle owner’s knowledge much less consent.

It’s for this and other – related – reasons that I won’t own a car much newer than my ’02 Nissan, which hasn’t got the “concierge” system or any of the rest of it. If you want to avoid the same, buy a car built no later than 2005 or so – and even then, be sure about it before you lay down your cash.

. . .