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Comment by bryanlarsen | Hacker News Reader

Let me get this straight. You bought a "statement car" but not for its statement, and then you assume that other people driving a different "statement car" bought it because of the statement?

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Yes, anybody who puts a sticker on their car apologizing for owning it is somebody who bought it to make a statement. I bought mine because I researched best gas mileage, lowest ongoing maintenance cost, and dimensions that fit the the city, and that's what I came up with.

>Yes, anybody who puts a sticker on their car apologizing for owning it is somebody who bought it to make a statement.

Or the opposite, buying the car wasn't a statement at the time and they don't like that driving it feels like a statement now so they got a bumper sticker to acknowledge that their continued ownership is not a statement of support for Musk and his ideology.

Real ones wouldn't be thinking about it at all.

Lots of reports of Tesla's getting keyed. I know Tesla owners who bought the sticker just to avoid getting keyed.

My favorite is the cybertruck with the T O Y O T A decal on the back

So it all boils down to "No True Scotsman"? How about I offer you an alternative:

We don't try to guess why you bought what you bought, or why you need to so actively rationalize it, and you stop assuming that those stickers are something other than "Please don't key this car" signs. Less dramatically some of them are also "I bought this before the guy started throwing celebratory HiterGruß on stage and carving up important parts of the government for nonexistent savings."

Which... for people outside of your bubble is something important.

How are you defining "real ones"? Because it seems like you're implying that someone can't have political opinions while also occasionally making apolitical decisions.

Until someone who hates Elon (not saying that's wrong per se) throws a brick through the window (which IS wrong per se) and you're on the hook for paying for it.

The world's richest man did a nazi salute. Real ones would fight WW2 against him

Then you are really bad at research

The 175k miles I've put on it over the last decade say otherwise :)

> then you assume that other people driving a different "statement car" bought it because of the statement?

He assumed that people who drive a statement car emblazoned with a big sticker that says "HERE'S THE STATEMENT I INTENDED TO MAKE" bought it because of the statement. I think that's a reasonable assumption.

How is a Tesla a "statement car"? A Cybertruck, sure. But Tesla's are as normal as anything on the road nowadays.

Depends on the market. In Australia Tesla is much pricier than all the Chinese options (more the norm). In my area people who would have probably bought a Tesla are looking at BMW's range.

They also avoid buying certain cars to make a statement.

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