Despite having means to do so I refuse to buy a Tesla due to Musk's antics. I don't want to bankroll that man-child's descent into Q-Anon level idiocy. There are decent alternatives sprouting all around from traditional car manufacturers.
Also, although I would never own one, I truly enjoy seeing Cybertrucks out in the world; they're so novel and iconoclastic and have character that so lacks in modern mass-manufactured vehicles, but it looks like they might also be a sucking wound on the company.
All my favourite CEOs inauthentically mirror the perceived beliefs of their customers in order to sell more products.
Also, other CEOs who might share those beliefs are at least intelligent / savvy enough not to voice them openly. Being so stupid or arrogant that you would proudly display those beliefs is seen almost as worse by many, so he doesn't do himself any favours with that.
I agree. However, hoi polloi don't evaluate others based on the objective validity of their beliefs, but rather whether they share the same beliefs, however stupid.
Like, I believe flat earth beliefs are stupid. Do people that hold them believe my beliefs in that area are stupid? maybe, but I'm pretty comfortable with that.
Right.
Elon dug his own grave by having severe narcissistic personality disorder, always need to be front and centre of the daily discourse and happens to show his real right wing face now. A face that is anthesis to his customer base.
And I LOVE that Musk defends freedom of expression. I LOVE that he defends free market economics and border control.
I assure you I am MORE likely to buy a Tesla because of Musk.
We can do better than pigeonhole all EV customers into a single political tribe.
We ban accounts that post like this, so I need to ask you to stop.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
As long as that expression is in line with his values and doesn't criticize him? That isn't "free" speech he's defending.
We ban accounts that post like this, so I need to ask you to stop.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
Thank you for admitting this.
I will be more wary of this site than I already was.
But the not-smart ones are so entertaining that I can support them!
Wouldn’t Elon Musk be the definition of “smart CEO”? Considering his track record?
Express to who?
Who do you express your sincerely-held beliefs to? To your friends and family or do you often get on a soapbox/roof-top/social media platform and just start yelling?
Musk’s been doing the latter, and CEO or not, it comes with consequences that are directly proportional to the size of the megaphone.
But all of the "big three" US automakers have laid off thousands of workers in the last few months. Tech companies have laid off hundreds of thousands.
Tesla is both, so isn't it likely that they're dealing with the same forces that caused layoffs at other companies?
This discussion seems like several people with pre-existing (and oft-repeated here) grievances twisting evidence to fit their theories instead of forming theories based on the facts.
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(Another fact to consider: in addition to the widespread layoffs already mentioned, there's also growing competition from hybrid makers.
US automakers race to build more hybrids as EV sales slow
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-aut... )
> assuming Musk is the problem
The answer, of course, is "all of the above".
Yes, Tesla is subject to the same forces as other car companies.
On top of that, some percentage of potential customers refuse to buy Teslas because Musk personally tainted the brand.
And that second factor could easily explain the difference between a 5% drop in shipments and their actual 13% drop YoY.
If you have a Tesla, get the suspension checked at least twice a year, and after hitting any pothole. A broken suspension can kill you.
With that info, you can easily forecast that the tech they are testing in the Cybertruk will be the foundation for the 25k car.
There's a basic principle as old as time which goes something like "never discuss politics, religion, and sports with co-workers". The reasons are obvious.
What kind of absolute moron is going to assume the public face of a few fragile companies and insist on making broad gratuitous ignorant public statements on each and every single one of these topics, sometimes bundling a bunch of them together?
Sports is the go to watercooler topic after weather
"I won't ever join those. Those are for kids. Those are weird. Why would I join them."
Society rules our lives far more than people are willing to admit to themselves.
Two of those are older folks, not even that connected with tech in general (or much of the internet vitriol), if Musk's bad press is reaching them it seems to me a quite generalised issue.
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/10/elon-m... [2]: http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/i-fokus/in-focus-2023/the...
What is your point? I couldn't care less what other people do, only where my standards/beliefs lie. I can't/won't ever support Tesla due to Musk. If he didn't benefit from my purchase, I almost definitely would have done so.
Going to inquire around getting a very cheap Tesla and hoping the stock crashes so that I can load up on more TSLA stock.
Sounds like lots of ex-Tesla fans bought in when the cars were over-priced.
Counter-trading HN has never been more profitable. [0] [1]
Good Luck :)
Even ignoring all theose expensive quality issues, some Teslas seem to be a money sink:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/rl0v50/can_som...
Look, there are plenty of CEOs who's politics I don't agree with (in fact there are more than a few) but:
1. I don't go on the roof and shout that they should be "silenced" because _I_ have somehow concluded that they are idiots because their views don't align with mine
and 2. I don't judge their technology or service based on whether they support my favorite political candidate.
So if you are not purchasing a Tesla because of Musk congratulations but I suggest you also start boycotting all other CEO's who has a view you don't like, otherwise it will just make you a hypocrite.
Presenting not purchasing a Tesla, a green technology which is actually good for the planet, in the name of politics as an act of martyrdom isn't impressive.
People here hate on Musk, yet they worship a known scammer like Altman. I hope the irony is not lost on everyone.
You're mixing up "I think they should shut up (and until they do, I'll vote with my money)" and "I think they should be forcibly silenced" here.
There's a difference between "Musk should be silenced" and "Musk should be silent". One of them is a request directed to whatever sort of people might censor him, the other is a request directed to Musk himself.
There's more reasons to avoid Musk than just his politics (though that's certainly a part of it). There's his habit of publicly making tasteless remarks, his treatment of employees, and his broken promises to customers, to name a few.
Most people I've seen decide not to buy a Tesla because of Musk aren't acting like they've made some big sacrifice. At most, it's been "I wish I could buy one, but don't want to support him." Characterizing that as martyrdom is ridiculous.
Saying someone should ignore the people behind a product when deciding whether to buy it is also ridiculous. Yes, a lot of people do this in practice because they don't know who's behind the products they buy, or because they don't have a choice. But they do know who Musk is because he's so public, and they have so many other options.
I'm with you on the Altman thing. I've seen people on this forum worship all sorts of characters. Musk was one of those characters at one point. If you meant that as an indictment of this forum, it absolutely is, but the hate on Musk isn't the irrational part.
>So if you are not purchasing a Tesla because of Musk congratulations but I suggest you also start boycotting all other CEO's who has a view you don't like, otherwise it will just make you a hypocrite.
People are free to choose what businesses they support. At the same time, I'm sure there's a certain amount of practical decision making that has to happen to meet one's needs. You can _choose_ to think of it as hypocrisy, but it's also just being practical.
Not that I'm even agreeing with the decision making of the parent. I just think your post is a ridiculous overreaction.
Musk made Tesla an inseparable part of the Musk brand (so like Bezos and Amazon, or Gates and Microsoft), and then thus every rant he makes is inextricably linked to Tesla.
Interestingly, as Gates mostly retired form Microsoft decades ago, he's been a bit more known -- he does charitable stuff with malaria, and Musk powered outlets claim he's giving everyone free 5g. Both are great things. I'm sure you could dig into bad things, but Gates isn't linked to Microsoft in the way Musk is linked to Tesla
This seems to be a willful conflation. You can't truly think those are the same thing?
"I don't like Musk so I will vote with my money and spend it elsewhere" is like the absolute pinnacle of free market economics.