There are conservatives with money, and those without. The latter is louder and more visible. Importantly, one should always, as a business, be optimizing for those with dollars vs opinions. Opinions do not contribute to revenue.
> There are conservatives with money, and those without. The latter is louder and more visible. Importantly, one should always, as a business, be optimizing for those with dollars vs opinions
The problem is the addressable market size. They traded the larger one (liberals with money and pro-EV opinions) for a much much smaller one (conservatives with money and pro-EV opinions).
The issue is that among conservatives with money, the primary opinion in their culture is anti-EV, so unless there is a pro-EV tipping soon point on that side, it's not likely that market will grow, or that it would even go to them vs more traditional auto-makers.
Pro-EV Tesla-owning conservative here. There aren't many of us, and for those of us in a blue city (e.g. Seattle) we now also have to contend with Kristallnacht-like environments for Tesla owners. Politically apathetic Asians are probably buying most of the Teslas here, but as the hostility and vandalism ramps up, they'll do the pragmatic thing and trade in for a brand that doesn't attract such unhinged behavior.
> Kristallnacht-like environments for Tesla owners.
C'mon, Kristallnacht? I'm not seeing any moves towards rounding up Tesla owners and sending them to camps. There's no political party carrying out organized pogroms against Tesla owners. No comparison whatsoever.
I've seen quite the opposite in liberal areas: a lot of empathy for neighbors who bought Teslas
a while ago because many - Tesla owners or not - feel deceived by Elon.
That's how I feel about my neighbors with Teslas. None of them bought them with the intention of promoting techno-feudalism, and because it's an expensive product, they are stuck with it for a while.
Far less of a pass for cybertrucks. Even absent Elon's politics that thing is rolling fuck you to everyone else on the road.
In that analogy, it’d be the government burning down Tesla dealerships as part of a false flag operation, rounding up liberals, and sending them to camps.
I haven’t heard of that happening either.
Anyway people stuck with an old Tesla can just get an anti-musk bumpersticker.
Why not? I got one because I liked the look and it's a fantastic family car (and house power backup). I'm not "promoting techno-feudalism" or anything so sophisticated. For many of us, it's just a car. I simply like it and it does what my family needs in a car.
But because of all of the "ok fine, give the Tesla owners a pass but fuck the cybertrucks" people like you, I now get to worry about being assaulted for driving it or coming back to a vandalized, damaged car with my kids in tow. Hence the Kristallnacht-like comment.
No good. A car is expensive, so whether you like someone's politics or not, honor the sweat of their labor. Nonetheless, the owners need to understand what people feel as well. Hopefully cooler hearts prevail.
Stick a rather visible "What would Jesus do?" on your car.
It occasionally helps to get the vandals arrested. Doesn't seem to be deterring the vandalism though, which is what I care about. I want to be able to go about my life without having to worry about coming back to a graffitied/damaged car.
It's a moral failure. Even in business. You know the electric car people are bleeding heart liberals. Is it okay to mislead them with false advertising? They really did look at him as a role model. So, immorality is bad business. But how can that be shown to you? I suppose a few more of these articles until this thing goes bankrupt over time. That would truly be god.
Edit: I just want to add a little grace here (got my Sunday suit on). I think Elon is probably the most interesting person you can ever hang out with most likely. He's definitely in a dark mindset atm, and I pray he gets out of it because it's not leading to a better world (and I know he once cared for this).
I bought my Teslas to contribute to electrification of transportation, climate change and whatnot. Also invested early on after test driving the original Roadster, I believed it was the future. We win or we learn. I learned. There are no heroes, only people. Onward.
Also, BMW, Rivian, Ford and (until recently; not sure about the new ones) GM. Kia and Hyundai share the same platforms. Subaru, Stellantis, Lucid, Volvo (Polestar) and Audi are shipping too. Toyota and Honda are basically the only holdouts.
Elon probably was interesting to hang out with, but right now I imagine he’s absolutely insufferable to be around. If I want to be inundated with bullshit right-wing talking points, I can just leave Fox News playing on my TV.
