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Comment by Larrikin | Hacker News Reader

If you aren't in the cult of personality, a lot of people need to justify it at this point. I have no interest in buying a Tesla unless he divests fully. Everyone else seems to be catching up without lying about their projected capabilities and I don't need an EV today. I don't want to give him any more money than he has.

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How many CEOs & owners have you vetted when making purchases? CEOs are a pretty shady crew as a class of people; it attracts people who like power and they are the dangerous ones. Or people who are single-minded in their focus and they tend to come with a raft of unusual views and personalities. And even after vetting, you're probably just biasing your purchases in favour of CEOs who do image management rather than people you'd actually like to support.

If you're buying cars based inversely on how much money the company owner has, you're implicitly ruling out a lot of good options. It is using the language a bit loosely but in some relevant sense we'd expect people who make the most cost-effective products to make the most profit.

When I see a Tesla, I think of Elon. When I see another car I don't think of whoever the CEO is, because I don't know who that is. For better or worse, Tesla=Elon in most people's eyes. He had made himself the figurehead, and is an extremely divisive figure. I didn't like feeling that I was implicitly supporting him whenever I got into my car.

You could apply this same thought reasoning with the trolly problem.

You know one CEO but not the others. The others could be worse people overall but they choose to hide it. So you make a decision based off a known bias.

I don't think you're irrational for making this decision, it's just interesting. It's something I've never done.

I'm not boycotting it because I'm under the illusion that it will affect Elon in any way. I am avoiding it because it makes me feel ick whenever I get in it and am forced to think of him. I also I don't want other people to think I support him.

I know what you mean, but there's a few other companies who I boycott because they (or their CEO) said or did something that disgusted me, and I've had no reason to go back later and see if it's been corrected.

Ages ago now, 2009, there was an advertising scandal about Toyota: https://www.fastcompany.com/1390534/toyota-terrorizes-consum...

It's stuck with me ever since. I can't feel comfortable with the idea of buying a Toyota, knowing it might encourage stuff like that.

And I have absolutely no idea who their CEO is or was, even though that's just a quick search away if I ever need to actually find out.

I don't know the name of a single other car company's CEO. If they are in the news or a topic of conversation among friends for a questionable or objectionable reason, I will evaluate them. Terrible people can be unknown for long periods of time, but it's not worth my time to investigate everyone just to be fair to Musk and his fans.

I mean, Mary Barra is a generally distasteful person, and I refuse to buy any GM product. Those two facts aren't related, but still.

"It is better to be silent and be thought a sociopathic fascist, than to speak and remove all doubt!" -- Mark Twain

"sociopathic fascist" wasn't on my redditer bingo card today.

> If you aren't in the cult of personality, a lot of people need to justify it at this point

The cult of hate seems a lot more like a cult than the alleged cult of personality. This post and comments like yours only make it more apparent.

Lmao how amny other companies do you buy products from that have shady business strategies or CEOs with unacceptable views? At least Elon doesn't hide it.

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