March 30, 2016. I arrived to the Tesla showroom/service facility at 7am to a line of about 30 people already camped out. A local Tesla fan club was handing out donuts and coffee. Tesla store employees were handing out whatever swag they had in stock; I got a nice pen.
Then, the line grew… and grew. Hundreds of fans wrapped around the building as we all eagerly awaited plunking down $1000 sight-unseen for a car. It seemed insane, but I wanted nothing else. It was a jovial, exciting party, and we were all there for the same reason. Then, the doors opened and it was electric (heh).
The order system couldn’t keep up, as every customer rapidly put in their reservation as quickly as possible to allow the next person to get theirs. I excitedly rushed home and bought as much TSLA stock as I could afford.
The next night was just as exciting, as I saw the grand reveal. The car was different, but beautiful. It was exactly what I wanted. Other people felt the same.
Then came the excruciating wait, as the company struggled to start production and avoid bankruptcy. People on the subreddit coordinated volunteer opportunities to assist Tesla in any way possible. We were all in this together.
Once deliveries started, it was again like Christmas morning. I got a call from a weary rep that my new baby was ready to deliver. One more painful week, and I was driving my amazing new whip away from the center, cheering to myself. I was hot shit as I turned heads around town in my low-VIN Magic Future Machine. Despite some early part replacements under warranty, it’s been a great car.
Which brings us to today. I’m now embarrassed to pull it out of my garage, despite the fact that lots of Teslas are tooting around town. I roll my eyes at the couple Cybertrucks I see. I want to put one of those “bought this before…” stickers on the bumper, but that seems kind of corny to me. My friends mock my Swasticar. I want to get rid of it, but I have no car payment and can’t be dropping the cash on something else. Even a used Polestar 2 would be $10,000 out of pocket. I’m sure there will be a rush on other EVs anyway.
I’m left with a perfectly good car that tells everybody that I’m an evil racist who supports the destruction of the better world I hoped to hasten with my original purchase. I don’t know what to do. What do owners like me (I assume there are many) suggest? Do we just live with our mistake?
It’s not a lifestyle declaration, it’s a car. I know people online make it sound like everyone is frothing at Tesla drivers, but ultimately: you bought a thing to get you around town.
Slap an Anti-Elon Tesla Club bumper sticker on it if you want. Do what I’ve been doing since Elon called that one guy a pedophile: remind people who comment that you’re not responsible for a billionaire’s antics. You just wanted an electric car.
It’s not a lifestyle declaration, it’s a car.
That’s the thing though, it was. It said “I believe in the future, and I’m putting my money and transportation where my mouth is.” I was an early adopter because I wanted people to see that an electric future was not only possible, but exciting and inevitable.
Even after that “pedo” incident, I was a “separate the art from the artist” kind of person. But this isn’t just a bridge too far, it’s off the cliff and into a river of lava.
I still love my car, and enjoy driving it. I have nothing to do with the antics of their CEO, nor does it affect me in any way. It’s even in a foreign country (I’m Canadian). Would I race down and buy another one, not after this, no. But at the same time, I don’t look to the auto industry for the inspiration of ethical behavior. Look at VW and Diesel gate, not to mention they were started by the actual Nazis. When you see a beetle, that’s an actual swastzicar. BMW, Mercedes came from terrible people. Henry Ford was an actual piece of shit, heck Ford and GM each donated over a million to celebrate Trump’s inauguration, and could be seen to be just as complicit here. The former Chairman of Nissan had to be smuggled out of Japan in a coffin, just a few years ago, to escape criminal fraud charges. John Delorean himself got busted with a trunk full of cocaine in the 80s, trying to save his car company. Long long story short, don’t equate your consumer purchase choices with conspiring with lunatics. You’d pretty soon have nothing, as everyone from Amazon, to the social media companies, to your favourite entertainers, all act with an appalling lack of ethical conduct.
Here in Vancouver there are a bunch of people that wanted to be early adopters of EV and Tesla was the most complete package at the time, so I have no animosity to the many people that drive the 3, y, x, s models.
The Cybertruck, on the other hand, even if you hadn’t the faintest clue about how much of a douche Elon is, people would have bought it primarily as a status symbol and for completely selfish reasons, so I have much less sympathy for them. It also came out a lot later and people had plenty of time to cancel their order if they find out about Musk and choose a different EV.
I just don’t have any animosity towards any of these people. Are they the ones acting like lunatics? No. So why hold them accountable for others poor behaviors? Especially in Vancouver, that’s holding people accountable for a foreign actors actions. It’s kind of lunacy when you think of it.
He’ll get taken care of, one way or another, I have no doubt on that. When people go to buy a car, I’m pretty sure a large portion of them are going to be pretty turned off by all of this, I know I am. I won’t be racing down to buy another one anytime soon. But I am not holding myself accountable and complicit for a purchase I made a year and a half ago. Especially when it wasn’t clear that Trump even had the Republican nomination until late summer 2024, and Elon didn’t endorse Trump until July 2024. We all knew he was a bit of a child, but I dont think Joe Consumer could have foreseen all of this at time of purchase, even with Cybertruck orders. So why hold these people to blame?
Society in large numbers is pretty weird, on both sides of the political spectrum. Donald Trump isn’t even the biggest evil that faces us either, it’s what empowers him, and that’s social media.
It’s only the cybertrucks I laugh at. An electric car is cool, and I assume most of the Tesla sedans I see were bought before Elon lost his mind and decided to become a bumbling supervillain.
An anecdote, this weekend I had to take my electric bike across town to pick something up, no bike lane, I used the road. Most cars passed normally, a couple of SUVs passed too close, but then a Prius followed me at my 20mph, giving a large space, so politely, until I swung off the road onto a sidewalk so it could pass.
I think in general people who drive the electric cars are chill. It’s only the cybertruck I find so ridiculous it really seems like anyone who would buy it is an idiot.
Be sure to tell people what you love about electric, while pointing out that next time you will be buying from a different brand.
Hey, so this is from the perspective of someone who doesn’t own anything Tesla. I do chuckle a bit when I see people driving around the $80,000 meme car, but I generally assume most Teslas were bought before Elon dropped his mask. I don’t think you should go buy another car, and I don’t want you to. The solution isn’t going to be more consumption. If you want to make a difference, call your local city clerk and see if they have an open position on your local traffic/planning/bicycle commission, apply for it, and try to build a future where people don’t need to buy cars from these assholes to get around. You could also consider just investing in an eBike (or regular bike for that matter) and using that to get around where it makes sense. eBikes are great because they can pretty much go the same speed as a car through town once you account for traffic.
I want to put one of those “bought this before…” stickers on the bumper, but that seems kind of corny to me.
Do it anyway. Or put a sticker on it that says you just wanted an electric car.
