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At this point, how is owning a Tesla car not just like walking around wearing one of those stupid red hats?
I agree and I drive a Tesla, unfortunately it's paid off so for the time being it just makes sense to keep driving it because it costs me basically nothing.
But I feel like a POS in public and it sucks.
I’m sure there is a bumper stick that’s says “I got this before musk was crazy”
Those bumper stickers are bullshit. Musk was a nut job who profited from apartheid and then bought his way into the public mind as some kind of low rent Tony Stark from the get. San Francisco 2012 people thought I was nuts for claiming he was a huge charlatan and now those same people rock those bumper stickers.
Despite Musk, Teslas did have some positive effect as they helped push electric car adoption. The big automakers were not interested in taking risks, and nobody was eager to build out large charger networks.
I certainly don't credit Musk himself for it, but no one should feel ashamed of having bought one of those cars back then. Today there are other good options for electric vehicles from companies run by slightly less bad people, but let's not kid ourselves. Everything we buy comes from some company that is enriching monsters...it's just that some of them are more monstrous than others.
True enough.
Just because shitheads run companies didn't mean you can't enjoy & appreciate the actual work, design, creation of brilliant, hard working people that made the actual product.
Musk never made anything. Nothing new, anyway. He made a hostile collar workplace noose and roped a group of companies into our modern, uncontested (except by unions) version of slavery.
The people at Tesla are groundbreakering pioneers of the future of transportation. Unfortunately, they're not geniuses about how to properly deal with a strangling grifter owner.
That kind of terrible management, terrible treatment of people, workers is rampant across (most?) all companies. Musk just screwed the best of the brightest lights on the road to the future. Fucked everybody harder than the other CEOs cause, well, as others mention, he was born to it (Emerald apartheid slave driver heritage).
What's sick is that what he did at Twitter was something many in the C-suite were in some cases privately cheering, and, in places where they were permitted, wanted to openly emulate. Sure, the excuse was that (some) companies overstaffed in the early covid days, but at X, they cut things to the bone and beyond when Musk took over, and it mostly seemed to be ideologically driven ("own the libs" but also, and this is the part others want to do as well, and in some cases, did: "crush those uppity tech workers"). This, combined with AI, was providing a beacon of hope to the corporate overlords eager to make even more undeserved money.
Ok so people didn’t know, that doesn’t make them bad people and it doesn’t make you as smart as you think you are.
If people ignore how shitty someone is, they are, in fact, bad people if they support their business.
I'm sorry but I have no idea who is the CEO, of say, Nissan or whatever, and I'm sure 99% of buyers don't research that.
There are. I've seen them.
Yes, that's called a Confederate flag. If you buy one after 2019, then it's a Nazi flag.
Well fucking stop feeling like a POS.
Please?
Its just a car, and regardless of who elon turned out to be.
And ya know what? Elon is the reason they arent better cars. He is not the reason they are as good as they are.
Take politics out of it for a minute and just remind or consider, how is your tesla a better car than the ICE car you did and/or would have instead.
You can feel good about that. Its okay. Elon is a piece of shit. He didnt always seem that way and that does suck. You dont, he does.
When you decide to get a new car you are going to have so many awesome options next time.
And you wouldnt have those options then, if Teslas werent/hadnt pushing everyone else in the world into getting away from ICE
Oh! Hey...
Thanks. Just what I needed for the day (from one of my favorite fellow Rocky Mountains crews).
I have a friend with a tesla who put on a bumper sticker along the lines of "I got this before he became a raging asshole"
I think I saw that sticker online and sent a link to a few people I know with Teslas, since they are in the same boat.
I like the "oil lol" style liscense plates
He'll turn back to the left as soon as the he gets too clingy with his current audience and they turn on him.
Musk is worse, he doesn't care about his political leanings, he only cares about where he can have the most people simping for him.
He's gone way too far down Trump's asshole for him to ever fool the left again.
He used to be different politically, because that was cool. Now he has enough money that people will tell him he’s cool no matter what his politics are, so he now supports the causes that benefit him. I don’t think he’s ever going back.
Could say the same about any American made truck, except they've had the association with stupid rednecks for decades so it's just not talked about as much.
Please dont associate us stupid rednecks with those wannabe rich fucks with the brand new rams. We much more prefer Toyota trucks or old Fords from the 90s backwards. Im personally also partial to Kei trucks and old Jeep trucks personally.
Because you seem to think, and my apologies if im mistaken, that people think about politics as much as your question suggests. Most people just dont really dont have the capacity to also factor in other peoples politics when making large practical purchases.
A minority of people vote in the us. I believe its around 39%
And slightly more than half of those people are deciding who the president of the US is.
You might be surprised to learn that most of the time, a car isnt a political statement or adorsement. It could be, and can be, sometimes it even is.
If you want an EV because you care about the environment you still want a good vehicle. Teslas are seen as the best EVs that most people have access to and are comfortable with... Inspite of why they might not be.
Maybe its a surprise to hear that practical benefits of EV ownership, whether it's due to not having to pay for gas, they want to support fighting climate change, or just enjoy cool new tech are likely why someone owns a tesla, not because they are fans of elon
How is owning a tesla car not just like walking around wearing one of those stupid red hats?
Because more than 90% of owners didnt buy their car to be political statements, but 90% of owners of those stupid red hats did buy them and wear them for the sole purpose of being political statementa
I'm just stating the reality of things. At one point, a Tesla was maybe a signifier for the left, or most likely neutral. Given how much Elon keeps inserting himself into the public eye, and not in a good way, the brand is now a signifier for things a lot of people despise.
I realize he didn't even start Tesla, and I realize many people bought their cars long before all this came to light. But I also remember when it was considered risque to buy "foreign". People absolutely DO think about what a car says about them when they buy a car, and people do make snap judgements about who is driving that car.
I'm just lamenting the fact that one of the most common EVs is now associated with a shithead like Elon. Which is unfortunate, because we need things like EV more than ever...
How much does one have think about politics to feel shame at driving around in a car sold by a Nazi?
Huh?
Do you understand where it leads to when there are two seperate economies? Its amazing how you dont realize we are in the "fucking around" point in american history.
Are you talking to me? I'm just noting the situation. I think people like Rush, Newt, Elon, and donnie have driven us to this point, and I don't think it's good at all. I'm quite worried about my country.
It takes two parties to tango, and if you dont want to interact with people products due to their non controversial beliefs, then you are completely part of the breakdown. And if you were really worried you would actually learn things, not just repeat propganda.
Shrug. Do you know anyone that has purchased a Tesla? If so, I suggest you talk to them about the car. I bet you can confirm what I've said above.
I know I have. It's not something I've made up - the owners sought a way to get away from ICE, and/or just liked the vehicle, wanted to get a jump on the future, or whatever. Now they are getting side-eye for being associated with this brand because of this loud mouth jerk at the helm. On the flip side of things, I've been in groups where someone points out a Tesla and someone mutters something about Musk.
I don't know what the answer is to this problem, but Musk sure doesn't seem to have it. If you think that is a problem I am responsible for, I'm not sure what to tell you.
Besides voting, about the only viable option most people have in America is to "vote" with their wallet. So while you won't find liberals doing dumb stuff like shooting their Tesla or putting it in a shredder (unlike the freakouts we have from the other side), I bet more than a few are finding ways to divest themselves of their Teslas and/or not buy a new one, and seek out other options. Right now, if they buy a Tesla, they are signifying that they are okay with Musk funding donnie, who is clearly a fascist. That is not a problem that liberals have created, by the way.
The issue is that you are in some kind of bubble where everyone is the same. I don know someone that owns a tesla, and elon has not come up one time, its usually about how cool the car is and some of the things that make it hard. My spouse has been looking to buy one due to its advanced technology and safety feature that would benefit her, and not one has it come up what elons politics are.
Your community has serious issues if they cant buy things from people of different beliefs, its a nail in the coffin that is 100% a you guy problem.
I guess I'm trying to understand how Elon doesn't come up at all when talking about Tesla. And I'm not sure what community you are talking about.
I dont get why Elon should come up, outside of his goofy naming system, I dont know where his politics are pertinent to the cars he sells. The community of left side people that are always on line and make everything about identities and teams.
You are kidding, right? First of all, Elon has spent a ton of time and money to inject himself into the zeitgeist and has styled himself as a edgelord/troll who likes to interfere in nearly every conversation where he can. To such a point where he had to buy a platform to further this end. He's essentially the face for Tesla, and people that buy that product almost have to know it.
And someone that is going to make the second biggest purchase that most people will make in their lives (behind a mortgage) are not going to give pause when they find out he's funding a fascist like donnie?
This is the community I am talking about, you just sit around and yell about how bad your enemies are.
What does elon being a part of the conversation have to do with how good his car is?
So, I guess buying a product that results in money going into his pocket is just some kind of abstract thing? The second biggest purchase a typical American will make is just totally apolitical with no real concrete outcomes?
There is not going to be a shortfall on people desiring teslas, so I dont think considering elon makes much sense.
And you guys are way too into the things elon says. Elon is mildly conservative at best, he is more just someone who thinks for himself, and the only reason we notice is because he is famous. As far as like twitter goes, he just made it more open and pointed out bad things the government is doing so I dont see how that is super bad.
( Checks posting history)
O....kay. Now I think I understand. have a good day.
The issue is that you guys are in a left wing circle jerk, you need more than one set of beliefs.