Lifestyle

Tesla urged by local residents to build bike path near proposed Portland Store

Residents of South Waterfront in Portland, OR urge Tesla to complete a bike path adjoining its proposed Showroom and Service Center

Published

9 years ago

June 8, 2016

Gene

Tesla Showroom and Service Center Portland

Tesla has reportedly volunteered to build a bike trail at the urge of local residents near the proposed site for its Showroom and Service Center in Portland, Oregon.

A riverfront area known as South Waterfront just 2 miles south of Downtown Portland has been the site for the city’s urban redevelopment project over the last decade. Nestled among luxury high-rise condominiums, sophisticated industrial-chic stores, and urban dining joints, is a relatively undeveloped area that was once the site for the now vacant 35,000 sqft. Benz Spring Company warehouse, a pre-WWII manufacturer of automotive leaf springs and coil springs.

According to NextPortland a site that keeps track of building developments in the city, Tesla has applied for a Design and Land Use review on its proposed Showroom and Service Center located at 4330 SW Macadam, the same location that houses the abandoned Benz Spring Co. warehouse.

Flyer advertising the commercial lease of 4330 SW Macadam, future site of Tesla’s Showroom / Service Center [Source: Canterbury Commercial LLC]

Photos from a flyer for a Canterbury Commercial real estate leasing company show the rectangular shaped building bisecting a popular riverfront walking and biking trail. Local residents of South Waterfront have urged Tesla to assist with building a bike path known as the Willamette Greenway Trail that would connect the existing path that ends directly south of the building with the area north of it. The request comes after budgetary constraints halted completion of the proposed project by the city’s Parks and Recreation division.

We’ve included a Google Street View image showing the current bike path coming to an end as it reaches the southern point of the proposed Tesla Showroom.

While Tesla’s Store seems generally welcomed based on positive comments from residents out of the South Waterfront Facebook Group, many locals have urged the company to consider completing “the gap” in the Willamette Greenway Trail or more commonly known as “the pathway to nowhere” by locals.

However, city zoning codes in South Waterfront exempt projects having to connect the Greenway Trail gap on their property unless they’re adding at least 50,000 square feet of new floor space. In essence Tesla was not required to build the bike path since their proposal for the store (see official filing here) was for a remodel of the existing warehouse which registers under 50,000 square feet.

According to BikePortland.org, South Waterfront local resident Bob Cronk took to the community’s Facebook group asking residents to write the city’s Land Use Services division and urge Tesla to “complete their share of the Willamette Greenway Trail!”

Bob writes on May 5 via Facebook’s South Waterfront – Portland Oregon group:

“Tesla is remodeling a warehouse in South Waterfront. Their plans do not include completing their portion of the river path also known as the Willamette Greenway Trail. If you would like to see this trail completed, email Jeff Mitchem at Land Use Services at jeffrey.mitchem@portlandoregon.gov (case file number LU 16-116605 DZ) by May 20th and let him know you want this gap in the trail completed! Each new project in the neighborhood needs to fill in their portion so we will someday have a continuous trail along the river.”

Well, Tesla obliged and volunteered to complete the long overdue bridging of the Greenway Trail gap. Last week, Bob took to Facebook again to announce that Tesla had agreed to complete the segment of the Greenway Trail adjoining their upcoming store.

“Good news, Tesla has agreed to pave the path on their property!”

In a city that’s stereotypically known for being green and flat-out hip, walking, biking, and soon driving a Tesla will hopefully be a common place item. We leave you with a closing comment from a happy reader of BikePortland.org. “Grandpa” writes:

“We don’t yet know why Tesla decided to build the trail …
Perhaps they did it because it is the right thing to do, and they are a company who’s business model is to do the right thing. Their product line would support that supposition. FWIW I emailed Tesla that I had a case of beer riding on their putting the trail section in. That may have been the deciding factor.”

And that’s why Portland is one of the hippest cities on earth.

Gene

I'm friendly. You can email me. gene@teslarati.com

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Lifestyle

Elon Musk seemingly confirms Cybertruck gift to 13-year-old cancer fighter

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, the teen has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12.

Published

3 days ago

March 6, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed that he will be sending a Tesla Cybertruck to 13-year-old Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, a 13-year-old Houston boy fighting brain cancer. The teen was recognized as an honorary Secret Service member by U.S. President Donald Trump during his address to Congress on Tuesday.

A Chance Meeting

The Tesla CEO’s Cybertruck pledge was mentioned during DJ’s short interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. When Collins asked the 13-year-old what he told the Tesla CEO, DJ answered that he asked for a Cybertruck.

“I said, ‘can you do me a big favor, when you get back to Houston can you send us a Cybertruck down there?’” the cancer fighter stated.

Daniel noted that Musk responded positively to his request, which was highlighted by Collins in a post on X. Musk responded to the post with a heart emoji, suggesting that he really will be sending a Cybertruck to the 13-year-old cancer fighter.

❤️— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2025

Teen’s Cancer Battle Inspires

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, Daniel has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12. During his speech, Trump highlighted the 13-year-old’s long battle with his disease.

“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true,” Trump stated.

Daniels officially received an honorary badge from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, to much applause during the event.

Surprisingly Partisan

While Daniels’ story has been inspiring, Trump’s focus on the 13-year-old cancer fighter has received its own fair share of criticism. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, while referencing Daniels’ love for law enforcement, noted that she is hoping the 13-year-old never has to defend the U.S. capitol against Trump supporters. “If he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide,” Wallace stated.

Anti-Musk and Trump accounts on X have also thrown jokes at the cancer fighter’s honorary badge, with some dubbing the 13-year-old as a “DEI hire” that should be looked into by DOGE.

Lifestyle

Tesla owner highlights underrated benefit of FSD Supervised

Published

1 month ago

January 31, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea of FSD being the difference maker for Tesla’s future.

If Tesla succeeds in achieving FSD, it could become the world’s most valuable company. If it doesn’t, then the company would not be able to reach its optimum potential.

FSD Supervised’s safety benefits:

But even if FSD is still not perfect today, FSD Supervised is already making a difference on the roads today.
This was highlighted in Tesla’s Q4 2024 Vehicle Safety Report.
As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States.

This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.

The convenience of…
— JC Christopher (@JohnChr08117285) January 29, 2025

FSD user’s tale:

As per an FSD user’s post on social media platform X, FSD Supervised was able to help him drive a relative to a medical facility safely even if he was exhausted.
During the trip, the driver only had to monitor FSD Supervised’s performance to make sure the Tesla operated safely.
In a vehicle without FSD, such a trip with an exhausted driver would have been quite dangerous.
“This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
“The convenience of sending the hospital’s address directly from my iPhone to my Tesla while still inside my house, then just a single button press once inside, and 40 miles later we were precisely in front of the hospital’s admissions area.This experience really underscores just how transformative this technology can be for society,” Tesla owner JC Christopher noted in his post.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Lifestyle

Tesla Optimus “stars” in incredible fanmade action short film

Published

2 months ago

January 14, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: @SoKrispyMedia/YouTube

There are few things that prove an enthusiast’s love towards a company more than a dedicated short film. This was highlighted recently when YouTube’s SoKrispyMedia posted a 10-minute action movie starring Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as well as several of the company’s most iconic products.

The video:

Shot like a Hollywood action flick, the video featured a rather humorous plot involving a group of thieves that mistakenly targeted a Tesla Model 3 driver.
The Model 3 driver then ended up speaking to Tesla for assistance, and some high-octane and high-speed hijinks ensued.
While the short film featured several Tesla products like the Model 3, Superchargers, and the Cybertruck, it is Optimus that truly stole the show.
Optimus served several roles in the short film, from an assistant in a Tesla office to a “robocop” enforcer that helped out the Model 3 driver.

Future Robo-cop @Tesla_Optimus

full video: https://t.co/TXpSRhcP5K pic.twitter.com/YFHZ7siAP7
— SOKRISPYMEDIA (@sokrispymedia) January 12, 2025

Cool inside jokes:

The best Tesla videos are those that show an in-depth knowledge of the company, and SoKrispyMedia definitely had it.
From the opening scenes alone, the video immediately poked fun at TSLA traders, the large number of gray Tesla owners, and the fact that many still do not understand Superchargers.
The video even poked fun at Tesla’s software updates, as well as how some Tesla drivers use Autopilot or other features without reading the fine print in the company’s release notes.
The video ended with a tour de force of references to Elon Musk products, from the Tesla Cybertruck to the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, which was released back in 2018.

Check out SoKrispyMedia’s Tesla action short film in the video below.