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Comment by danans | Hacker News Reader

> Of course, there is a global Tesla boycott.

Is there really? In the sense of a global organized boycott spearheaded by a particular organization? I've not yet seen anything like that. It seems like instead the brand has just been damaged by Musk in the eyes of the kind of person who might be likely to buy an EV in the first place.

Furthermore, that has happened as their offerings have become stale in their primary markets - their old branding approach (techno-utopianism) has lost its appeal, but their new branding (techno-dystopianism) is turning most people off.

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> Is there really? In the sense of a global organized boycott spearheaded by a particular organization?

That's not the normal definition of boycott.

Usually boycott just means to refuse to buy from a particular vendor due to some reason other than cost-value of the product.

I dont know about "global" but there are certainly many regional groups boycotting american products in general, and musk doubly so.

> Is there really? In the sense of a global organized boycott spearheaded by a particular organization? I've not yet seen anything like that. It seems like instead the brand has just been damaged by Musk in the eyes of the kind of person who might be likely to buy an EV in the first place.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/uk-new...

"According to Germany's road traffic agency, Tesla sold 1,429 cars in Germany, a decline of 76%, an even bigger decline than the 60% drop in January. Overall, sales of electric vehicles rose 30.8% to 35,949 in Germany."

"Tesla sales were down 24% in the Netherlands, 42% in Sweden, 48% in both Norway and Denmark, 45% in France, 55% in Italy, 10% in Spain and 53% in Portugal"

Not an organised boycott, just people voting with their wallets.

If there was an organized boycott, the US Office of Antiboycott Compliance could stop that quickly. That's why most boycotts these days are not officially organized and spearheaded by any actual government or powerful body

Nah that's not what they do.

https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/enforcement/oac

They don't do it now. They would do it if a new organized boycott popped up because that's what they were invented to do. Plus Trump will surely utilize it if he ever feels the desire

Assuming law-following (which I realize the current administration doesn't care about), that agency's authority doesn't apply:

"These authorities discourage, and in some circumstances, prohibit U.S. companies from taking certain actions in furtherance or support of a boycott maintained by a foreign country against a country friendly to the United States (unsanctioned foreign boycott)."

So it's about US companies and foreign governments, not individual consumers purchase decisions

Yes I'm talking about in the context of companies, gov'ts, police departments, etc. I know it's not about personal decisions.

One of the biggest hammers to the hypothetical boycott is this office which effectively criminalizes any company from partaking (going so far as to have to prove they considered the boycotted party for all deals / contracts / purchases / etc.)

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