1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: tech are you? So recently I came across a headline 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: in the Register that read, and that's three recalls for 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: Tesla cybertruck in as many months. And from that headline 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: I infer the intent behind the wording is to say 8 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: the Tesla Cybertruck, even with all its numerous delays, was 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: still rushed off to consumers without going through a thorough 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: quality control process. Worse that, these issues are ones that 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: are bad enough to necessitate a recall, in which a 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: company requests that customers return purchase products due to some 13 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: flaw in the product itself, a flaw that could potentially 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: lead to harm. Are the very least legal liability for 15 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: the company. And we'll talk about the specific recalls for 16 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: the cyber truck toward the end of this episode, but 17 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: in the meantime, I thought it might be interesting to 18 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: talk about some major recalls in tech history. Now. A 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: lot of them have to do with the automotive industry, 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: and that makes a lot of sense vehicles are potentially 21 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: extremely dangerous, right. I mean both to the people who 22 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: are inside the vehicles and especially to the people who 23 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: are outside of them. Flaws and such in a vehicle 24 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: can contribute to catastrophic scenarios, and this has made far 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: more complicated because it's not like every car is made 26 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: from the wheels up by a single manufacturer, right. A 27 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: lot of components are coming from different suppliers. So it 28 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: could be that the automaker is doing absolutely everything right, 29 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: but a component that they're getting from a supplier has 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: a flaw in it, and that's enough to create a 31 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: dangerous situation. Of course, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 32 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: studied car accidents and found that the overwhelming majority of 33 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: them result from driver error. Only a tiny percentage of 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: accidents that the NHTSA reported on were actually caused by 35 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: vehicular problems. But if the problem could possibly lead to harm, 36 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: it only makes sense to fix the problem. Right. We 37 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: can't fix drivers necessarily, we can't make them all much 38 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: more responsible and careful, but what we can do is 39 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: identify and eliminate issues that can lead to dangerous situations 40 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,359 Speaker 1: on the road. So we're going to learn about some 41 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: product recalls and how they all played out. And the 42 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: very first one I'd like to cover comes from the 43 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: same decade that I come from, the nineteen seventies, the 44 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: nineteen hundreds. Boy, I come from the nineteen hundreds. That 45 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: feels weird anyway. The product is the Little Wonder TV antenna, 46 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: which was a product that was manufactured by a company 47 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,959 Speaker 1: called the Akli Trick Corporation out of Brooklyn, New York. Now, 48 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: for those of y'all who have never had a TV antenna, 49 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: let me explain, before cable and before satellite television, and 50 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: before internet delivered television programming, there was over the air broadcasting, 51 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: and actually there still is. I'm being a little facetious 52 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: here because some of y'all might take advantage of over 53 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: the air antennas to this day. I don't mean to 54 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: paint everyone with the same broad brush. Even in the 55 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: twenty first century, there are regions where cable TV isn't 56 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: available and satellite reception could be terrible due to stuff like, 57 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: you know, mountains and trees and that kind of thing. 58 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: If you don't have a clear view of the sky, 59 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: then you can't really pick up satellite signals. So sometimes 60 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: over the air broadcast is how you get your your 61 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: entertainment with over the air broadcasting. A television broadcaster beams 62 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,559 Speaker 1: TV signals via radio waves. It's part of the radio spectrum, 63 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: and the television station uses a big, old transmitter antenna 64 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: to blast out those waves, and they travel outward in 65 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: all directions, and they get progressively weaker as they travel outward. 66 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: If you are close enough to pick up the signal 67 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: while it's still of decent enough strength, then your receptor 68 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: antenna you're receiving antenna will collect those radio waves and 69 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: convert them into an electrical signal, and your television processes 70 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: this electrical signal and you can watch your programs, you 71 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: can watch your stories. For some reason, I'm imagining it's 72 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: more commendy, and I might just be channeling my own 73 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: childhood at this point, because I certainly had televisions that 74 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 1: relied on over the air broadcasts for quite some time. 75 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: I didn't get cable till the eighties. Anyway, the little 76 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:47,919 Speaker 1: wonder TV antenna would draw power from an electrical outlet 77 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,280 Speaker 1: in the home in order to amplify the incoming radio 78 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: signals that were going to the television. Now, not all 79 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: television antennas do this. Many antennas are non amplified. You 80 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: just connect them to your TV and that's it. But 81 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: the whole concept behind amplification is that you take an 82 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: incoming week signal and through the use of an electrical current, 83 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: you boost that into a much stronger signal. But amplification 84 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: is a tricky thing. It's a tricky thing for me 85 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: to say, I'm recording this at the end of the 86 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: day rather than at the beginning, so I'm tripping over myself. 87 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: But amplification can be tricky because with television antennas, you're 88 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: amplifying everything that's coming in. You know, that doesn't just 89 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,239 Speaker 1: include the signal you want. Right Like you've tuned your 90 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: television to a specific channel, your antenna is picking up 91 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: all the different frequencies and there can be noise that's 92 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: included in the same frequency band as the channel that 93 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: you're tuning to. And for that reason, a lot of 94 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: resources actually suggest that if you do depend upon an 95 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: over the air antenna to get your television programming, that 96 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:59,239 Speaker 1: you first try it in a non amplified capacity before 97 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: switching it to an amplified version, because it just might 98 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: be that the non amplified approach works better for you, 99 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 1: you know, otherwise you might just end up amplifying all 100 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: the noise, and yeah, the TV signal stronger, but so 101 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: is everything else, and so you still can't see anything anyway. 102 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: In some places, an amplifier is necessary to boost a 103 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: signal to great enough strength to make TV programming watchable. 104 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: So here we have the Little Wonder TV antenna and 105 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: it's plugged into the wall. So what necessitated the product 106 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: recall in nineteen seventy three, Well, the US Consumer Product 107 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: Safety Commission, which we will mention multiple times in this episode, 108 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: found that the Little Wonder TV antenna lacked a safety 109 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: device that would isolate the electrical current from the home 110 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: outlet where it was plugged in to the antenna itself, 111 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: which meant that it was possible through normal operation of 112 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: the antenna. Like let's say that you were like, oh, 113 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: I need to move the bunny ears so I can 114 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,719 Speaker 1: get a better signal, you could actually get an electrical shock. 115 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: You could even suffer electrocution. Electrocution is death through an 116 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: electrical shock, and that's obviously a severe health hazard. So 117 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: the CPSC urged the Federal Trade Commission or FTC to 118 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: investigate Ak Electric Corporation, alleging that the company had used 119 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: quote misleading and possibly fraudulent advertising end quote for their product, 120 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: and their recommendation was for people who had bought this 121 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: thing to unplug the antenna from the wall first of all, 122 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,559 Speaker 1: then to disconnect the antenna from their television, then to 123 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: toss the antenna in the trash. Pretty phenomenal. Now going 124 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: from an early example to a much more recent one, 125 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: A famous recall that happened less than a decade ago 126 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: was the Samsung Galaxy Note seven fablet. Do you remember fablets? 127 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: We don't use that word much anymore, but those are 128 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: like the very large smart phone somehow, like you know, 129 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: kind of like a the love child between a phone 130 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: and a tablet. And this was a doozy of a recall, 131 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: and I'm sure a lot of you actually remember when 132 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: this happened. It wasn't that long ago. The problem quickly 133 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: reached a point where here in the United States, the 134 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: TSA and the Department of Transportation, as well as airlines 135 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: all around the world, would begin to deny passengers entry 136 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: onto a plane if they were carrying a Galaxy Note seven. 137 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: The problems would lead to an incredibly expensive recall. They 138 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 1: even played a small part in the impeachment of South 139 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: Korea's president. So what the heck happened? Well, first, Samsung 140 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: was pushing the Note seven pretty darn hart. The company 141 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: had a couple of Android smartphone flagship lines. There was 142 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: the Galaxy S series, then you had the higher end, 143 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: larger Galaxy Note series, And like a lot of smartphone manufacturers, 144 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: Samsung designated different generations of these phones with a number 145 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: after the name, But the Note and the S series 146 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: were one number off from each other. The S was 147 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: a generation ahead of the Note, so when the S 148 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: six came out, the Note five was coming out. So 149 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: after the Galaxy Note five, Samsung decided they were going 150 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: to give six a skip. They go straight to the 151 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: Galaxy Note seven. This was kind of in an era 152 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: in which tech companies were skipping numbers in their product lines. 153 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: It kind of makes me think I should write a 154 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: science fiction novel set in an alternate universe where everyone 155 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: has a Samsung Galaxy Note six or an iPhone nine 156 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 1: and they all work on Windows nine machines. But anyway, 157 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note seven on August second. They 158 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: launched it on August nineteen, This is in twenty sixteen, 159 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: and they showed off a ton of new features in 160 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: the phone. They built up anticipation for it, particularly in 161 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,199 Speaker 1: South Korea, where the sales were going pretty darn well. 162 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: But on August twenty fourth, less than a week after 163 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: the phone had launched, the first report of a Galaxy 164 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: Note seven catching fire made the news, and it wouldn't 165 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: be the last time. On September second, Samsung announced a 166 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: recall of two and a half million Galaxy Notes seven 167 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: units and said the problem was with a faulty battery. 168 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: They blamed a supplier that had supplied the batteries for 169 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: these two and a half million units. Customers had the 170 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: option of either getting a replacement so they could turn 171 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 1: their phone in and they would get a new phone 172 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: with a different battery in it, or they could get 173 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: a refund. Less than a week later, on September eighth, 174 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: the United States FAA told airlines to alert customers who 175 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: had a Galaxy Note seven that they were not to 176 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: charge or to turn on their devices during flight. The 177 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: very next day, the US can Consumer Products Safety Commission 178 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: there they are again. They released a statement saying people 179 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: should not be using the phone full stop, whether you're 180 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: on a plane or not. The agency later would issue 181 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: a full recall on September fifteenth. Now, Samsung was trying 182 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: to address the problems and keep the Galaxy Note seven afloat. 183 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: The company planned to start selling the phones again in 184 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: South Korea starting on September twenty eighth. However, before that happened, 185 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: news reports from China stated that there were also issues 186 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,679 Speaker 1: with the Note seven catching fire and exploding in China. 187 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: Now this was very concerning, not just because obviously you 188 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,440 Speaker 1: don't want your product exploding and hurting your customers, but 189 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: because the batteries in the Chinese phones actually came from 190 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: a different supplier, right, And remember Samsung had said that 191 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: it was the supplier that had sent faulty batteries, but 192 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: now this was a different supplier. What was going on here? 193 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: And Samsung did start selling phones again in South Korea 194 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: and issuing replacements for US customers, but the problems didn't stop. 195 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: The replacements would have similar issues to the original phones. 196 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: They still would catch fire or sometimes explode. On October sixth, 197 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: a Southwest Airline flight in the United States had to 198 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: be evacuated when a Galaxy Note seven that was on 199 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: board the plane began to start smoking. More reports of 200 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: overheating phones would follow. US carriers announced they would stop 201 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,599 Speaker 1: selling the phone, like phone carrier said, we're gonna curtail 202 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: selling this phone, and they start they'd stop issuing replacements too, 203 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: like they would stop replacing older Note sevens older by 204 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: like a week with newer ones. So on October eleventh, 205 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 1: Samsung issued a statement saying the company was investigating the 206 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: issue and recommended that all Galaxy Note seven owners powered 207 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: down their phones and to stop using them. That's a 208 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: message you definitely don't want to give when you're a manufacturer, 209 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: is to stop using our product. The investigation revealed that 210 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: the early Galaxy Note seven models had a problem with 211 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: a battery that was too large for the phone that 212 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: it was inside. Essentially, the battery was big because Samsung 213 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that the battery life was sufficient 214 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 1: to give you a full charge for a day. But 215 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: remember this is a fablet. It's a smartphone with a 216 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: really big screen. I mean that's a power hungry device. 217 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: So these batteries would fit in the very slim form 218 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: factor of the Galaxy Note seven, but only just and 219 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: it was such a snug fit that it could squash 220 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: the negative electrodes on the battery to come into contact 221 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: with the positive electrodes through making contact with a conductive 222 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: element in the phone itself. And this is where we 223 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: have to talk about stuff like short circuits and thermal runaway. 224 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: So normally, in a circuit, you have a path like 225 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: a circuit is just a pathway, right, and ultimately the 226 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: pathway has terminations at a negative terminal and a positive terminal, 227 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 1: and electricity flows through this pathway and it does some 228 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: sort of work along the way. Whatever the circuit is for, 229 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: it does the work of that circuit. But if you 230 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: were to create a direct connection between the negative and 231 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: positive terminals that bypass this whole pathway, well, the electricity 232 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: would have a much easier and shorter path to take, 233 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: and it would do that and there's no work that's doing. 234 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: There'd be no governing elements to put a check on 235 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: the flow of electricity. You would have a short circuit, 236 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: and the electrochemical reactions in the battery would give off 237 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: more and more heat. They are exothermic reactions, and eventually 238 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: you would get hot enough where you could potentially have 239 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: a structural failure of the battery itself and a potential 240 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: fire or explosion on your hands. That appeared to be 241 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: the issue with the first set of phones. The tight 242 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: fit of the battery really seemed to be to blame. 243 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: But that's not the end of the story. We're going 244 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: to take a quick break. When we come back, I'll 245 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: finish up on Samsung. We'll talk about some other recalls 246 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: as well, but first let's think our sponsors. Okay, we're back. 247 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: So Samsung engineers thought that they had identified and then 248 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: addressed the exploding battery issue by switching to handsets that 249 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: had batteries that were made by a different supplier, because surely, 250 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: if it was a manufacturing error that came from one supplier, 251 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: the other supplier should be cushioned against that. However, the 252 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: pressure to get replacements off the assembly line and into 253 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: customers hands as quickly as possible perhaps contributed to a 254 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: scenario where there were more manufacturing issues different ones, But 255 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: there were still manufacturing issues with the batteries themselves. So 256 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: this time the manufacturing errors in the batteries created a 257 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: situation in which some batteries had the positive electrode make 258 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: contact with the negative one inside the battery really like 259 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: the positive part of the battery and the negative part 260 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: of the battery would get squished together so tightly that 261 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: there would be contact inside the battery instead of separation 262 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: like you're supposed to keep it separated. Otherwise you still 263 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: have a short circuit. Well it had a short circuit, 264 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: so in the end you still had batteries catching fire 265 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: and exploding, and Samsung would recall millions of handsets and 266 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: they had to take a loss on the entire generation 267 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: of the Galaxy Note smartphone. Samsung would continue to make 268 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: more handsets in the Galaxy Note line, but they released 269 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: the final one in twenty twenty with the Galaxy Note 270 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: twenty so and that wasn't the twentieth generation. They just 271 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: gave that the name because it was coming out in 272 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: twenty twenty. The cost of the Galaxy Note seven recall 273 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: was in the billions of dollars, and there were lawsuits 274 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: brought against Samsung related to the battery incidents, so that 275 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: was even more cost on top of just the expense 276 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: of replacing these phones and then ultimately recalling a refunding. 277 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: The scrutiny that followed the scandal may have contributed to 278 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: a massive political change in South Korea. Now I stress 279 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,760 Speaker 1: may so I'm going to explain what happened, but keep 280 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:16,400 Speaker 1: in mind, like the Samsung Note seven thing, if anything, 281 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: was just sort of an early event that led to 282 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: more scrutiny on the company itself. So Samsung is what's 283 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: called a chable, meaning it's a company, a Korean company 284 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: that ultimately is run by a very powerful individual or family. 285 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 1: In Samsung's case, it's a family. One member of that family, 286 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: the one presumed to be the heir of Samsung, the 287 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: person who will inherit it is Lee Jay Yong. And 288 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: in early twenty seventeen, Lee Jayyong was arrested on charges 289 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: of bribing a confidant to the president of South Korea. 290 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: That case went well beyond Samsung, and it was not 291 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: just Samsung that was thought to have participated in bribery, 292 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: but Samsung played a big part in this scandal. So 293 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: the scandal was huge, and ultimately Lee j Young was 294 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: found guilty on all charges and sentenced to five years 295 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:16,119 Speaker 1: in prison. He served a year and then the court 296 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: eventually reduced his sentence and then suspended the remaining amount 297 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: and he was released. But he did spend a year 298 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: in prison. South Korea's president was impeached as a result 299 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 1: of this massive scandal. She was shown the door. So 300 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,439 Speaker 1: while the exploding phones didn't directly contribute to that story, 301 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: you could argue they brought unwanted attention to Samsung's activities 302 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: and that's what led people to discover this case of bribery. 303 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 1: If you're wondering what the bribery was all about. Allegedly 304 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,679 Speaker 1: it was about bribing the president so that a big 305 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: merger could go through for Samsung, essentially greasing the wheels. 306 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: Samsung would argue that there was no bribery. There was 307 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: just a customary gift, something that was just, you know, 308 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,400 Speaker 1: just a custom in South Korea. But the courts did 309 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: not agree with that particular defense, So there we have it. Now. 310 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: Sometimes a tech recall isn't for the tech part of 311 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,160 Speaker 1: the product, not necessarily directly anyway, but it's still something 312 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: that poses as a potential hazard or legal liability. That 313 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: was partly the case for Toyota, with one of the 314 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,440 Speaker 1: costliest recalls ever at that point. Though to be fair, 315 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: this recall also segues into some other related recalls, like 316 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,360 Speaker 1: two other ones, one of which related to a very 317 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: similar problem, and this was happening really around late two 318 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: thousand and nine. That's when Toyota and the National Highway 319 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, responded to reports that some 320 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: Toyota owners had experienced what was called unintended acceleration, which 321 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: is the car would go when no go was really 322 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: the desired outcome, but then cargo when it should no go. 323 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: Toyota had been through this before, actually two years earlier. 324 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: In two thousand and seven, Toyota discovered that its optional 325 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: all weather floor mats had the potential to slide around 326 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: if unsecured, and that it could mean the mat could 327 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: slide and snag the accelerator pedal, thus holding the pedal 328 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: down even after the driver would lift their foot off 329 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 1: of the pedal. So the company swiftly issued a recall 330 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: for around fifty five thousand vehicles that had these all 331 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,440 Speaker 1: weather mats back in two thousand and seven. In two 332 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, the problem was larger than all weather mats. 333 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: It appeared to be an issue with millions of Toyota 334 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,240 Speaker 1: and Lexus vehicles. Floor mats on the driver side could 335 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: similarly snag and trap the accelerator pedal, so the company 336 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: issued a wide recall, but at least for a subset 337 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,479 Speaker 1: of vehicles. This solution of removing the floor mat didn't 338 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: fully address the problem, so in early twenty ten, Toyota 339 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 1: issued another recall, this time for faulty accelerator pedals themselves. 340 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: The shape of the pedal appeared to be the problem. 341 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: The pedal could catch on the floorboard and it could 342 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:17,120 Speaker 1: stay down. Most but not all, of the recalled vehicles 343 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: were also under the recall for the driver matt issue, 344 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: so Toyota and the NHTSA had a bit of a 345 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: spat about this. The car company initially insisted that the 346 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: floor mats were the beginning and end of the problem, 347 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: and the NHTSA kept saying the problem hasn't been fixed yet. Now. 348 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,719 Speaker 1: There were other issues as well that Toyota had to 349 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,120 Speaker 1: address with its various vehicles, but the floor mat slash 350 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 1: faulty accelerator pedal. Those flaws cropped up and stayed an 351 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 1: issue into early twenty eleven, and they necessitated several recalls 352 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: of various Toyota vehicles. The company and its dealerships incurred 353 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: billions of dollars in costs as result of these recalls. Moreover, 354 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: the company's image took a big hit, and in the end, 355 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 1: while the problem had the potential to cause accidents, very 356 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: few incidents were ever reported. To learn more about the 357 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: media hype that surrounded the problem, I recommend reading Robert E. 358 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: Cole's twenty eleven pieces in The Atlantic. It as the 359 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: title who was really at fault? For the Toyota recalls? 360 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,959 Speaker 1: Because it's a complicated story, Like, there was definitely an 361 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: issue there, and a potentially very dangerous issue, but there 362 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: were a lot of players in the space that complicated 363 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: things beyond how they already were. So Toyota has also 364 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: been affected by another recall, one that affected eighteen other 365 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: auto makers and more than thirty brands of cars. So 366 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: I'm talking about air bags made by a part supplier 367 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,360 Speaker 1: called Takata. A fault was found in Takata air bags 368 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 1: that could lead to accidental and explosive deployment, and this 369 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: could also include the air bags rupturing and the explosion 370 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: propelling dangerous or even deadly shrapnel into a vehicle. Multiple 371 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: people died as a result of this over the course 372 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: of several different years. So the issue originated with the 373 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: inflator for the air bags, the actual device responsible for 374 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: pushing gas into the air bag at an incredible speed. 375 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: So the inflators used a propellant of ammonium nitrate, and 376 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,159 Speaker 1: the propellant that Takata was using in these early steel 377 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: inflators did not have a chemical drying agent, a desiccant 378 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: in other words, and that meant that in humid environments, 379 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: moisture could affect the propellant and high temperatures could make 380 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,120 Speaker 1: this very very reactive. So here in the United States, 381 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: the NHTSA identified a few regions as being more conducive 382 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,920 Speaker 1: to the environmental factors that have an impact and make 383 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: these things more dangerous. It's dangerous no matter where you are, 384 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: but there's certain areas where because of the climate, it's 385 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: more likely to happen. So that includes the southeastern United States, 386 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: including my home state of Georgia, as well as the 387 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,160 Speaker 1: state of Hawaii and a few other places. So they 388 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: kind of divided up the United States into three zones, 389 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: with each zone having a certain level of risk, and 390 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 1: the zone my states and is in the highest risk. Now, 391 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,640 Speaker 1: the problem has been around since the late nineteen nineties. 392 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: There were models from like model year ninety eight or 393 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: ninety nine that were included in the various recalls eventually, 394 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: and there were vehicles as recent as the model year 395 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,159 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen that were part of this. Around sixty seven 396 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,880 Speaker 1: million airbags are affected by this recall or the series 397 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: of recalls here in the United States. Global figures are 398 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 1: closer to one hundred million. The NHTSA says at least 399 00:24:55,600 --> 00:25:00,160 Speaker 1: twenty seven people have died from these exploding airbags, more 400 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 1: than four hundred had been injured due to them, and 401 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,119 Speaker 1: Takata in twenty fifteen said it was aware of eighty 402 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: four ruptures occurring since two thousand and two, So it 403 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: very much is a thing. Are the odds high that 404 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: it could happen to you if you happen to be 405 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 1: driving one of these vehicles? Not necessarily, I mean, it 406 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: depends upon where you live and the conditions of the 407 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,679 Speaker 1: environment as to whether or not you know your vehicle 408 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: might be vulnerable. But it's a really good reason to 409 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,400 Speaker 1: check to see if your vehicle has been affected by 410 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: this recall because you can actually take your vehicle to 411 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: a dealership to have the air bags replaced for free. 412 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 1: That is part of the deal that Takata agreed to 413 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: in order to fix this massive problem. Now of great 414 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: concern is the timeline of not only when the airbags 415 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: were incorporated into vehicles, but when Takata engineers first became 416 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: aware that there was a problem in the first place. So, 417 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: according to a twenty fourteen article in The New York Times, 418 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: Takata workers first began to test their air bags for 419 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:08,480 Speaker 1: possible deficiencies way back in two thousand and four, because 420 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: that was when an airbag had apparently deployed spontaneously and 421 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: propelled debris at a driver in Alabama. Apparently, the workers 422 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: found that the inflators they were using were not as 423 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: resilient as they thought they were. But the company would 424 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:29,959 Speaker 1: actually wait four years before filing a report about faulty 425 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: air bag systems with regulators, So between two thousand and 426 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: four and two thousand and eight, according to The New 427 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: York Times, Takata knew about this but kept quiet about 428 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 1: the issue, putting potentially hundreds of thousands of people, maybe 429 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 1: even millions, at risk. Now, Takata's two thousand and eight 430 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,640 Speaker 1: filing prompted a recall in two thousand and eight, one 431 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: that covered several car makes and models, across multiple automakers. 432 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: This is what I was talking about earlier, Like, automakers 433 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: don't make everything that goes into their vehicles, So if 434 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 1: a manufacturer that creates a critical component does a bad 435 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 1: job of it, it can affect cars across numerous car manufacturers, 436 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: not just one. The list of cars affected actually grew 437 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: year by year, Like it was one of those things 438 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: where the story got worse the longer it went, where 439 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 1: Takata would say, Oh, it turns out these types of 440 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 1: airbags or airbags that are similar enough where they can 441 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: have the same problem can also be found in these 442 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: other vehicles on top of all the ones we've already 443 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 1: listed that kept happening year after year. Again, the NHTSA 444 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: really was focusing on regions that were more likely to 445 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: have hot and humid weather. Because there's only so much 446 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: you could do so quickly, right, Like, this is a 447 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 1: critical piece in a car's safety systems and it needs 448 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: to be addressed, but you can only make air bags 449 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: so quickly. You can only make the replacements at a 450 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,919 Speaker 1: certain speed, And so there was a bottle there. You 451 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: couldn't get the airbags to dealerships fast enough to be 452 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: able to meet the needs of all the people who 453 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: had cars that had these air bags in them. In 454 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: November twenty fourteen, the NHTSA called for a national recall, 455 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: and by spring twenty fifteen, the number of vehicles affected 456 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: by the recall had reached thirty three point eight million 457 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:23,280 Speaker 1: in the United States. That summer, Reuters reported that some 458 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,120 Speaker 1: of the replaced airbags still had faulty inflators in them 459 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: and that they would need to be replaced again. And 460 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: by some I mean like four hundred thousand or so. 461 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: While all this was going on, there were still incidents 462 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: involving air bags deploying prematurely, sometimes leading to deaths. This 463 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: was a terrible situation. You had this great sense of 464 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: urgency to have these faulty air bags replaced. You had 465 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,920 Speaker 1: this bottleneck in airbag production and delivery. The supply chain 466 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: just couldn't keep up with the need to replace all 467 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: of these Because this was, you know, affecting cars across 468 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: multiple years of manufacturing. It wasn't like it was one 469 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 1: fleet of cars, it was several. An effort was made 470 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: to prioritize the specific regions of vehicles that were most 471 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 1: found to be vulnerable, but it still was a real challenge, 472 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 1: and there was a challenge in communicating all of this 473 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: to the public. The NHTSA has gone so far as 474 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: to issue a do not drive advisory for certain vehicles, 475 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: stating that owners should prioritize having their cars repaired, which 476 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 1: dealerships should perform for free. Takata would face hefty fines 477 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: in lawsuits and eventually had to file for bankruptcy in 478 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, which is not a big surprise because the 479 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: last estimates I saw for the total cost of the 480 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: recall is somewhere in the neighborhood of like twenty four 481 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: billion dollars. In twenty eighteen, Takata submitted a plan that 482 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: included a trust fund established for people who had been 483 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 1: directly affected by airbag explosions. Because these were still an 484 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: issue and the number of vehicles recalled continued to grow 485 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 1: and it's very much ongoing. There are still vehicles on 486 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,320 Speaker 1: the road right now that have these old Takata air 487 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: bags installed. The NHTSA recommends the driver's check to make 488 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: sure their older vehicles aren't on the list of models 489 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: affected by this issue, and if they are, that you 490 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: then take the vehicle in to get that free airbag replacement. 491 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: Considering this summer here in the United States has already 492 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: seen record temperatures, my feeling is that even people who 493 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: live in states that aren't traditionally associated with high heat 494 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: and humidity should probably double check to make sure their 495 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: vehicle is in the clear. Here in the US. You 496 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: can go and do that by visiting the website in 497 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 1: HTSA dot gov. Submitting the state and license plate number 498 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 1: of your vehicle or your vehicle's ven will tell you 499 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: if there are any unrepaired recalls associated with your specific vehicle. 500 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: It's a quick way to check that could save you 501 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: from injury or worse. So I highly recommend doing it, 502 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: Like just check and see if you're fortunate there won't 503 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: be anything there, and then it'll tell you there are 504 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,680 Speaker 1: zero unresolved repairs anything like that, and that's awesome. It's 505 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: great peace of mind. According to numerous sources, there's still 506 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: are millions of affected vehicles on the road today. Okay, 507 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: we're going to take another quick break and then we'll 508 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: come back to finish up this discussion about tech recalls. 509 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 1: We're back. So not all tech recalls necessitate a return 510 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: to a manufacturer or a dealership or something like that. 511 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: Some can be addressed through software updates that are pushed 512 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: out over the air. That was the case with the 513 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: Google Nest smoke detector. In early January twenty fourteen, Google 514 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: completed an acquisition of the Nest company, best known for 515 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: their thermostats, and a few months later, Nest engineers realized 516 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,760 Speaker 1: that the Nest Protect Smoke plus carbon monoxide alarm had 517 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,440 Speaker 1: a feature that could lead to dangerous situations, and that 518 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 1: feature was called Nest Wave. As the name implies, this 519 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: was a gesture control system, so the idea was that 520 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,560 Speaker 1: you could wave at an alarm in order to shut 521 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:11,200 Speaker 1: it off. So imagine you're in your kitchen. You're toasting 522 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: some bread, but you forgot that the day before you 523 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: toasted a bagel, so you had the toaster set higher 524 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: than you normally would, and your bread starts to burn, 525 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: and the smoke detector goes off, and you eject your toast, 526 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: and then you're waving frantically at the smoke alarm to 527 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: stop it from making that terrible noise, which seems like 528 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:32,480 Speaker 1: a pretty cool feature and definitely easier than like getting 529 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: a step ladder out so you can reach the reset button. 530 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,320 Speaker 1: At the center of an alarm, or do what I do, 531 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,840 Speaker 1: which is where you grab a nearby broom and use 532 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 1: the handle to kind of poke that button. But there's 533 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,959 Speaker 1: a problem with this gesture system, and that is that 534 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: the nest Wave had the potential to pick up on 535 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: gestures that were not intended to be a command to 536 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: shut the alarm off, and the device might not sound 537 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: at all if it happens to be in the presence 538 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: of somebody who is waving their hands around while there's 539 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: some smoke. I'm reminded of a friend of mine who 540 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: is extremely expressive and she talks with her hands. If 541 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 1: she was on the phone, one hand would be holding 542 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 1: the phone to her ear, the other hand would be 543 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,520 Speaker 1: gesturing wildly. Well, if in the background something had caught 544 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: fire and the smoke detector had picked up on it, 545 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: it might see her gesturing and think, oh, she's got 546 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: this handled because she's waving me to shut up. That's 547 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,959 Speaker 1: not great. So Google promptly issued a recall affecting more 548 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: than four hundred thousand smoke alarms, and the company issued 549 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:35,240 Speaker 1: a software update to disable the nest Wave functionality. There 550 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 1: you got your problem solved. Now you can no longer 551 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,959 Speaker 1: turn off the alarm just by waving at it. So 552 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 1: this recall was a necessary regulatory step, but it did 553 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: not mean that customers actually had to send their alarms 554 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: into Google for replacement. They just needed to make sure 555 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: their alarm was connected to the internet in order to 556 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: receive the software update. Nest said it received no reports 557 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 1: of the issues leading to injury or property damage, which 558 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 1: is good. There are lots of other tech recall stories 559 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: that essentially end with software updates. Quite a few with 560 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,359 Speaker 1: Tesla have gone that way. All of the ones we're 561 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,759 Speaker 1: going to talk about with the cyber truck are more 562 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:17,400 Speaker 1: about bringing the truck in to have something physically addressed. 563 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: Well again, we'll get to that before the end. So 564 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: we've got one other one I want to chat about 565 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: before we get to cyber trucks, and that is a 566 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 1: thing that was a little tech gadget. It was a 567 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:32,440 Speaker 1: giveaway in happy Meals at McDonald's in twenty sixteen, and 568 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:35,800 Speaker 1: it became a big pr headache. So in twenty sixteen, 569 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:39,920 Speaker 1: McDonald's introduced a couple of fitness tracker type things. They 570 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: were called the steppe It Activity wristbands. These were not 571 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,400 Speaker 1: sophisticated by any means. But you wouldn't expect them to 572 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,800 Speaker 1: be sophisticated either, right, because it's a giveaway. It's a 573 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:50,880 Speaker 1: kid's toy in a happy meal. It's not going to 574 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:55,919 Speaker 1: be some sort of expensive gadget. They were essentially pedometers, 575 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,400 Speaker 1: and they were not particularly good from what I understand. 576 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 1: I read a review of one, I think it was wired, 577 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 1: and it said it was strangely very sensitive to non 578 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: steps and not so sensitive to actual steps. But they 579 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,279 Speaker 1: looked like toy smart watches, right, They kind of looked like, 580 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: you know, a very cartoonish smart watch, but that's kind 581 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,839 Speaker 1: of what they look like. The promotion with the toy 582 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:22,759 Speaker 1: fitness trackers began on August ninth of twenty sixteen, but 583 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:25,960 Speaker 1: before very long, some parents were reporting that their kids 584 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:32,400 Speaker 1: were getting rashes or blisters or even burns after wearing 585 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,800 Speaker 1: the tracker for just a short while. In fact, according 586 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,360 Speaker 1: to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, our old friends over there, 587 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: there were more than seventy reports of such cases. Now, 588 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,240 Speaker 1: obviously that's a very bad look, and McDonald's quickly issued 589 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: a recall for all thirty three million of these things 590 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,719 Speaker 1: they had purchased them from China and apparently there were 591 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,480 Speaker 1: some real issues. Whether it was chemicals on the thing 592 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: that were causing it or some other issue. I can't say. 593 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it's a chemical thing, like probably similar to 594 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,399 Speaker 1: I have a nickel allergy, so if I wear something 595 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: that's got nickel on it against my skin, I get blisters. 596 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,959 Speaker 1: So by August seventeenth, the wristbands were gone from Happy Meals. 597 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 1: They'd only been there for a little less than two weeks. 598 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,400 Speaker 1: So the incident prompted discussions as to whether the decision 599 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: to include the toy trackers in the first place was 600 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,320 Speaker 1: even a good idea. Not that McDonald should have known 601 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: that these would potentially cause harm. That wasn't really the question. 602 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,440 Speaker 1: It was more like, was this really just a cynical 603 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,759 Speaker 1: attempt to make McDonald's appear to be more health conscious 604 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: because there were already criticisms leveled against the company regarding 605 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: the nutritional quality or lack thereof, of the food that 606 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,480 Speaker 1: it was serving to people, and some critics said McDonald's 607 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 1: didn't really attempt to create a serious message around health 608 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:55,480 Speaker 1: and wellness. They just included this as a toy because 609 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,000 Speaker 1: they figured some kids would have seen their parents wearing 610 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,120 Speaker 1: something similar and now they got to do it too. 611 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 1: Parents were encouraged to bring the wristbands back to McDonald's, 612 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: whereupon the company would replace the wristband with a different 613 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:09,719 Speaker 1: happy meal toy, as well as a choice of either 614 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:14,760 Speaker 1: yogurt or apple slices to compensate the children whose wrists 615 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:17,239 Speaker 1: were potentially put in danger. I'm not sure how many 616 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 1: parents felt like saying I'm loving it by the end 617 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,440 Speaker 1: of that day. And now we will finish by talking 618 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 1: about the Tesla cybertruck recalls. So the first recall was 619 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,280 Speaker 1: a relatively small one. It happened in April twenty twenty four. 620 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,920 Speaker 1: It did affect fewer than four thousand trucks. I mean, 621 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,000 Speaker 1: four thousands a big number. But when we're talking about 622 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,960 Speaker 1: the other recalls here, when we're chatting about the millions, 623 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 1: four thousand's not that bad. So what was the problem. Well, 624 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 1: the issue was a faulty accelerator pedal cover which could 625 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:50,640 Speaker 1: fall off. And if the cover fell off, it created 626 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: the possibility of the accelerator pedal sticking against the interior 627 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,879 Speaker 1: trim of the cyber truck. And so we get back 628 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,359 Speaker 1: to an unintended acceleration problem similar to what happened in 629 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,840 Speaker 1: the Toyota vehicles that I mentioned earlier. So Tesla issued 630 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:09,000 Speaker 1: the recall, but it also said that the company didn't 631 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,040 Speaker 1: have any record of any incidents happening due to this issue, 632 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,600 Speaker 1: which is good, you know, considering the potential severity of 633 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:18,520 Speaker 1: the problem. But you know, it's it's great that this 634 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:23,720 Speaker 1: was solved before you know, any catastrophe could happen. However, 635 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 1: that was just the first of the Tesla cyber truck recalls. 636 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,200 Speaker 1: There were two more since then, and again that just 637 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,799 Speaker 1: that one happened in April of twenty twenty four. So 638 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:35,960 Speaker 1: in June twenty twenty four, two Tesla recalls popped up 639 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,440 Speaker 1: on the NHTSA website. So one was due to an 640 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:43,800 Speaker 1: issue with exterior trim detaching from the side of the car, 641 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,280 Speaker 1: which is an issue that affected like eleven three hundred 642 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,920 Speaker 1: eighty three cyber trucks that were produced between November thirteenth, 643 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:54,920 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three and May of twenty twenty four. The 644 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:58,560 Speaker 1: second recall was for eleven thousand, six hundred eighty eight 645 00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: vehicles and the problem was potentially a much more dangerous 646 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:05,520 Speaker 1: one windshield wiper motor that could fail and just leave 647 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 1: the driver unable to clear their windshield in a rainstorm, 648 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:10,880 Speaker 1: or what have you. The company said the issue was 649 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,319 Speaker 1: quote a wiper motor whose gate driver may have been 650 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:19,160 Speaker 1: damaged due to electrical overstress during functional testing end quote. 651 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,080 Speaker 1: So I guess the message is we safety tested this 652 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,200 Speaker 1: thing so hard that we made it unsafe that we 653 00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:28,240 Speaker 1: wore it out. That's kind of how I read that. 654 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:31,360 Speaker 1: That might be an unfair reading. That's my own opinion, 655 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: So I just want to put that out there. But 656 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:36,480 Speaker 1: according to posts on web forums, some cyber truck owners 657 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,000 Speaker 1: had been waiting for a replacement wiper motor for weeks. 658 00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:44,640 Speaker 1: That's both frustrating and dangerous, depending upon what driving conditions 659 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 1: happened to be, right, Like, if it's boring down rain, 660 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,480 Speaker 1: it's not really safe to drive your cyber truck if 661 00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: the wiper motor isn't working. All that being said, I 662 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,120 Speaker 1: think it's unfair to pick on any one automaker too 663 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,520 Speaker 1: much when it comes to these recalls, because, like I said, 664 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,680 Speaker 1: there's so many different components go into a finished vehicle, 665 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:05,839 Speaker 1: and different suppliers are for lots of these different pieces, right, 666 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:09,960 Speaker 1: and to expect everything to go perfectly all the time 667 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:15,000 Speaker 1: from every supplier that's unrealistic. The key I think is 668 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:17,919 Speaker 1: that companies need to be quick to acknowledge when there's 669 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:21,279 Speaker 1: a problem and to have a solution ready to go. 670 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,560 Speaker 1: It's important for all parties involved. It's definitely important for 671 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:28,360 Speaker 1: customers who depend upon the reliability and safety of the 672 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,920 Speaker 1: products that they're purchasing, but it's also important for the 673 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:34,320 Speaker 1: companies if they want to avoid stuff like massive fines 674 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: and hefty class action lawsuits and like pr that's just 675 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,480 Speaker 1: really bad for the company that tends to be also 676 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,480 Speaker 1: bad for the stock price. So there's just a handful 677 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:51,000 Speaker 1: of recalls and tech products and what caused them to happen. Ideally, 678 00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:54,719 Speaker 1: of course, a tech product is put through thorough testing 679 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 1: and all the major stuff gets worked out and if 680 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:01,080 Speaker 1: if there's anything left over, it's minor and not hazardous. 681 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,040 Speaker 1: But that's not how the real world works, right Either 682 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:08,680 Speaker 1: there are urgent deadlines to meet and people start cutting 683 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,319 Speaker 1: some corners, or you're depending upon products that were made 684 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 1: by someone else that you thought were reliable turns out 685 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 1: they're not. There are a lot of things that can 686 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:19,680 Speaker 1: go into that, and so I don't want to put 687 00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:21,960 Speaker 1: too much blame. I know I am very hard on 688 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:25,640 Speaker 1: Tesla in general, but I don't feel like that I 689 00:41:25,719 --> 00:41:29,320 Speaker 1: can make a case that Tesla did a bad job 690 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,480 Speaker 1: with this. I think it's just unfortunate. I think the 691 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,319 Speaker 1: cyber truck in general is unfortunate, but that's mostly due 692 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,040 Speaker 1: to the fact that I still think it's really an 693 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:41,360 Speaker 1: ugly vehicle. But that's my own personal opinion. Again, I 694 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:44,560 Speaker 1: don't think it's necessarily bad. You would have to ask 695 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 1: someone who reviews cars for a living what they thought 696 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 1: of it and get that sort of data from them. 697 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,719 Speaker 1: I am not the right person to ask. But yes, 698 00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:59,000 Speaker 1: that's a selection of recalls. I am going to sign 699 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,600 Speaker 1: off for this episode. I am currently probably on my 700 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:05,239 Speaker 1: way back to Atlanta as you listen to this because 701 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:09,320 Speaker 1: I took a long weekend to celebrate my belated birthday. 702 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,799 Speaker 1: I hope all of you had a great weekend, and 703 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:22,000 Speaker 1: I will talk to you again really soon. Tech Stuff 704 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:26,640 Speaker 1: is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 705 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:30,200 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 706 00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:35,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.