I drive a two thousand and eight Toyota Prius. Over the years, I've been very happy with it, but it's about to reach the hundred and fifty thousand mile mark, so I'm starting to think about replacing it. I know I don't want another Toyota, because they've been donating to Republican congresspeople who deny the twenty twenty election results and climate change (which is a real shame coming from the same company that popularized the fuel efficient hybrid engine). So I would like to buy an electric car. And these days, that usually means a Tesla.
Recently Tesla became a trillion dollar company after the Hertz car rental company agreed to buy thousands of them. This is the crowning achievement of a company that seemed at first to only be catering to wealthy progressives who wanted to show the world that they care about climate change (and drive a flashy, attention getting car at the same time).
Founded way back in two thousand and three, Tesla is the first auto company to sell exclusively all electric vehicles. One of the keys to the company's success was that it laid the groundwork so well: there are now over twenty five thousand Tesla charging stalls all across the US, Canada and Mexico. Add to that the fact that each car comes equipped with onscreen maps showing the nearest charging center and information that tells the driver how far they can on their remaining battery energy, and you have an effective way to make sure that drivers don't get stranded.
All the Tesla models have a sharp, sleek design, and the ability to go from zero to sixty in mere seconds seems to excite a lot of macho car owners (not me so much). Plus, it not only saves money on gas, it also has fewer moving parts than a normal car, so there's less to have to replace. Yes, the Tesla has made electric cars cool and has built up an often rabid fan following while doing it.
If that's the case, why would someone like me considering buying a different brand of electric car? Two words: Elon Musk. While not one of the Tesla company's founders, Musk was a primary share holder and he took over as CEO in two thousand and eight. He is also currently the world's richest man. As the company's figurehead and primary spokesman, Musk had said and done some things over the years that I find objectionable. While I don't mind his ego or showmanship (those are to be expected) there are other things about him that are troubling. His behavior as a boss has been described as unstable and sociopathic by former workers who said that he engaged in "wild firing rampages." In twenty eighteen he tweeted out a claim about the Tesla company that was considered false by the Security and Exchange Commission, which wound up fining him twenty million dollars for it. That same year, Musk tried to help out the rescue of Thai schoolboys stuck in a flooded cave by building a small submarine. When the children were saved without it, he angrily tweeted out that one of the rescuers was a "pedo guy", although he later apologized.
When the pandemic hit, he claimed that the danger of it was overblown, promoted chloroquine as a cure for Covid, and tweeted in March of twenty twenty that "Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April." He was also mad about having to temporarily shut down his factories during lockdown.
And he seems determined to promote the so called "Full Self-Driving Capability" in the Tesla cars, even though this self driving mode still requires the driver to pay attention. Not surprisingly, some Tesla owners have tried just letting their car drive itself, and have even gotten out of the driver's seat while the car is going. This has lead to some high profile accidents; so many, in fact, that the government is currently investigating the company. Which hasn't stopped Musk from still offering the feature, along with inflated claims of its effectiveness that, according to the New York Times, the company's own engineers disagree with. You would think having a successful company that produces only electric cars would be enough, but Musk also wants to start a self driving revolution, even if that means using the American public as "beta testers".
And being the richest man in the world hasn't tamped down Musk's greed; he recently tweeted out "Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you" in regards to a proposed wealth tax. Is there anything more pathetic than a man worth hundreds of billions of dollars complaining about having to pay a reasonable tax rate? How about if that same man also once took billions of dollars in government subsidies. Yes, that's right, over the years Tesla and Musk's other companies have received billions of tax dollars. It's entirely possible that Tesla would never have survived the recession of two thousand and nine without the low interest loans it got from the Department of Energy. You'd think that a guy who knew that wouldn't begrudge paying a fair tax rate on his hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth. But that's Elon Musk for you. He's the single best argument against buying a Tesla, no matter how good they are as cars.
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