Read on Twitter
a couple thoughts from a ucdavis mechanical engineer who grew up in silicon valley - son of a low level software architect father (he built the memory management system for DEC’s vax vms and later Tandem nonstop system software. https://twitter.com/villi/status/1301600454753751040
1) pure mechanical engineering is dead 
- If you are not thinking interdisciplinary - you are doing product wrong.
- If you are not thinking interdisciplinary - you are doing product wrong.
mechanical engineering magazine in 1998 declared this - new Words like mechatronics became the names of college courses (robotics by another name) More broad than just robots! 
cars / planes / ebikes / power delivery are both mechanical + electrical + software!
cars / planes / ebikes / power delivery are both mechanical + electrical + software!
2) Automobile companies were dominated by mechanical engineers that didn’t speak software - if they don’t evolve to the interdisciplinary reality of today - They need to be removed and replaced.
3) Lots of folks are well-meaning - They want to optimize for safety - Operating huge companies with huge liabilities. lots of concern regarding software and hacking and other potential failures of software
i suspect the degree to which any auto companies a) lack SW expertise to compete with tesla b) are afraid of screwing up i the wake of things like the toyota fluster cluck... http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/08-blame-game
it’s time to build great software at every auto company - and not just for infotainment- they need terrific security pros and control systems pros - and the ability to fail safely!
Additionally the lax naive government regulations that enabled Software to “eat the world” and compromise our democracy because “move fast and break things” is not what the world needs
Venture capitalists like @pmarca and @villi can write things like this - https://a16z.com/2020/04/18/its-time-to-build/ - But I would suggest looking inward
there is value for VCs - returns for fast software development - but the consequence for moving fast and Breaking things are turning out to be real messy
so how about some introspection @pmarca - Maybe you should’ve started your piece about building infrastructure with “ i am the wrong person to write this - and i helped fund a speedy sprinting disaster of software lemmings”
