The Dredge Tank

I tried to explain to him that I didnt give a shit that he was driving a Elong Musk car, and likely neither did any of the other hillbillies around here, but he insisted that he had to get rid of it.

yeah honestly this is what really gets me about the typical cybertruck/tesla EV posts and discourse. I'd argue that a good chunk of their drivers aren't terminally online and are probably like "holy shit I drive a vehicle that has become associated with everything crazy Elon Musk says" whenever someone comes up to them in the parking lot and starts yelling at them about how they're supporting a weirdo.

Funnily enough I have a relative who bought a Model S in 2016, still has it, but will not drive it anywhere further than the 3 miles back & forth to work or the grocery store because he - a black man - got yelled at by some obnoxious teenagers when he drove to one of the bigger cities nearby to see a movie with his wife back when theaters re-opened after the pandemic lockdowns. They literally called him a Uncle Tom, which is just a wild assumption to make about anyone driving anything - unless they have a huge "I hate black people and yes, I am black too!!" flag on the back of their vehicle. He knows Musk is insane, he doesn't support Elon at all, but he was driving a 2006 Toyota Tundra getting like 10MPG prior to purchasing the Model S so arguably even with the battery production emissions being worse than a normal car's emissions when you think about it - he's probably making a better choice for the environment in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, with what Tesla charges for simple repairs (he told me it cost him like $400 to get a tire patched because he couldn't just buy a Tesla tire and replace it himself & there were no Firestones/etc nearby that serviced Teslas) and whatnot combined with the fact that he's been legitimately harassed for driving one - he's also looking to sell his but no one wants a 10 year old Tesla and the associated Musk baggage that comes with it.

I feel for him because if I'd been in the market for a new vehicle back in 2016 and was willing to make the car payment on a $50k Tesla, I would probably also be the owner of one. I pray daily that Toyota's CEO doesn't start posting dumbass memes on Twitter because if I buy an eventual EV (please...I just want the Mirai...why is the Mirai not sold at any dealership within 500 miles of me...Joe Biden remove the Chinese tariffs so I can buy a BYD Sealion or a Hongqi PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU....) and I have to deal with that kind of bullshit I'll just drive myself over a bridge rather than constantly explain to others "No sorry I didn't check the CEO's social media posts from the last 5 years before signing"