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Comment by twilo | Hacker News Reader

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> Why is everything so political it makes no sense to not buy a well engineered product because you don’t agree with someone’s political views.

By providing more money and wealth to someone, you are also providing them with more power and influence. If you disagree with someone's political views and actions, why would you give them more power to implement things you disagree with?

As for "well engineered": [citation needed]

Both Consumer Reports and JD Power do not have Tesla anywhere near the top:

* https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-...

* https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-vehi...

* https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehi...

In what way doesn't it "make sense"? If supporting such a company (and, thus, owner/CEO/figurehead) makes you feel bad, why should you do it?

Perhaps it doesn't make financial sense, assuming the boycotted product is truly the best but that is not the only dimensions humans operate in, right?

Are you part of the people who said to kids "vote with your wallet if you're unhappy"?

Because i'd love to see the Wenn diagram of people who complain about things being "too political" and people saying to two generations "vote with your wallet" or something among the line of "you're free to buy something else/change operator". Probably a nice oblong.

I'm tired of people complaining why everything is political. Besides that everything IS political, in this specific example you would decide to give 40k+ dollars and a 6-8 year trust relationship to a guy making nazi salutes.

Are you sure it doesn’t make sense to you? There’s nothing a company owner could do that would make you feel icky giving your money to them? Think about your values and then imagine a CEO who stands against them publicly, and works to undermine them. If you would still give them your money, do you really believe in your values all that much? (And forget about musk here - I mean your values and a hypothetical CEO)

I drive a Model X. It is not well engineered.

Maybe in this case and now, most EV owners the to be liberal

… well engineered product..

The cybertruck is not well engineered. Maybe their other cars are but not the cybertruck.

Why is everything so political…

I have no obligation to buy a product that enriches a person as shitty as Elon Musk. Politicization by boycotting his products is warranted though.

Tell that to anyone demanding tariffs. I think we are beyond 'making sense' already.

Wasn't Tesla a political statement to begin with? They ended up being good cars with a different political statement, as a result the value proposition equation needs to be re-balanced by something like lower cost or better car.

> Why is everything so political it makes no sense to not buy a well engineered product because you don’t agree with someone’s political views.

The "someone" in question literally threw Hitler salutes on an open stage in front of the whole world watching. That's beyond "political views", that's beyond "hysterical takes" - there are lines that plainly should not be crossed.

In any case, Tesla and "well engineered" doesn't match up either, at least when looking beyond the drivetrain. Rust, poor fitting of surfaces, the Cybertruck being too unsafe to legally drive on European roads, issues with modern ECUs, long lead times for basic spare parts... need I continue?

Musk has spent over a decade linking himself inextricably with the brand. He can hardly turn around and conplain when people go "ugh, that car's associated with that Hitler-salute arsehole, can't buy that"; this is very much something that he brought upon himself.

Frankly there's a reason that you generally don't hear much about the CEOs of most consumer goods companies (the CEO of VW, for instance, is so obscure that he _does not even have a Wikipedia page_); part of the job is to shut up and refrain from causing trouble.

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