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Tesla owners

304 replies

Moorfellduck · 22/02/2025 20:20

I would never buy a Tesla now - literally over my dead body. I think Musk is dangerous and delusional and don't want to be associated with him in any way. I've got a few friends that have Tesla's and I know that they feel a bit conflicted. I guess they are kind of stuck with them for now.

If you've got one do you feel bad driving it and feel that people might be judging you now or do you dissociate the brand from Musk himself? I not a journo, just interest given how popular they are and a bit 🤔that people think it's okay to buy one now given they can make a choice that isn't contributing to Musks wealth and power.

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ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:28

We all know that there are bad people out there, but why does that in any way excuse people supporting Musk?

It makes people feel better about their choices?

Farellyo · 23/02/2025 08:28

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 08:18

No not at all. It’s more a point of most products and brands that we consume today are somewhat linked, directly or indirectly to line the pockets of awful people. Musk is just in the spotlight.

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That's the difference in part though isn't it. Some choose where to spend their money for moralistic reasons therefore the choice isn't anything to do with the perception by others. A product like this where the owner is so well known and has such polarising views some will have their decision impacted by the fact people may associate their choice with said owner and make a judgement on it.

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 08:30

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:22

No not at all. It’s more a point of most products and brands that we consume today are somewhat linked, directly or indirectly to line the pockets of awful people. Musk is just in the spotlight.

Musk is his brand though in the way that many celebs are. And cars in particular rely on brand power & sell a lifestyle to make consumers buy into that. It's not the same as buying a tin of beans.

So what about the car companies (Toyota, Ford etc) that manufacture and directly supply armies known to use them in harming civilians? Or Boeing? Do we just pick and choose which people we want to protect by boycotting a brand?

And again I don't have the answer to that, nor am I trying to scrutinise anyone's points, I'm merely putting up thought provoking points.

Interested in this thread?

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Cars & vehicles
Snoken · 23/02/2025 08:30

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:28

We all know that there are bad people out there, but why does that in any way excuse people supporting Musk?

It makes people feel better about their choices?

I guess. It's just whataboutism.

Snoken · 23/02/2025 08:31

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 08:30

So what about the car companies (Toyota, Ford etc) that manufacture and directly supply armies known to use them in harming civilians? Or Boeing? Do we just pick and choose which people we want to protect by boycotting a brand?

And again I don't have the answer to that, nor am I trying to scrutinise anyone's points, I'm merely putting up thought provoking points.

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I think so yes. That and voting is the power we have as citizens and consumers.

Dbank · 23/02/2025 08:33

mummytalking · 22/02/2025 21:24

This. So many big brands we buy have some association or history with something we might not agree with. It would mean boycotting so much. I'm more concerned with my Apple phone at the moment...

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Why are you worried about your apple phone, do you have ADP enabled?

TriathlonTriathlonTriathlon · 23/02/2025 08:35

I love my Tesla! The tech is more superior than any car I’ve ever driven and I would struggle to have any other car now. Elon is a bit of a prat, it irritates me that he’s a crap dad, but he’s a bloody good business man and he makes great cars.

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:38

So what about the car companies (Toyota, Ford etc) that manufacture and directly supply armies known to use them in harming civilians? Or Boeing? Do we just pick and choose which people we want to protect by boycotting a brand?

No brand is perfect but I just don't think the above is in the same league as buying a new Tesla today. A car brand is very much tied to its image. I also wouldn't buy a RR because of the perception of them breaking down, getting stolen & high insurances.

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:42

I'm merely putting up thought provoking points.

Not really, no one can be perfect in terms of how they live, what they buy etc but we can try to do a little better if it's something important to us.

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 08:46

Snoken · 23/02/2025 08:26

But so what? What was the point of the comment? Was it to say don't buy anything from anyone because you don't know what their values are or was it supporting Musk isn't so bad because other people are bad too?

We all know that there are bad people out there, but why does that in any way excuse people supporting Musk?

Show quote history

We all know that there are bad people out there, but why does that in any way excuse people supporting Musk?

I’m going to try and summarise / break down the points I’ve been making.

  1. I don’t like Musk, I think he is an idiot and every time a video pops up of him speaking on my SM, I scroll really quickly so that my phone learns I don’t want to see his content.
  2. That being said, whilst I understand buying a Tesla directly profits Musk himself, I can separate the product from him because the people that actually design and manufacture the product are very likely normal people like us. If he doesn’t get money from a sale / lease of a car, he will likely get it by smoking weed on radio or other nonsense he gets in to.
  3. the choice to buy in to or not is entirely people’s choice and I don’t feel strongly about anyone that does boycott or doesn’t.
  4. my point about other brands being problematic is merely to say that that there is a level of hypocrisy in saying “I won’t buy a Tesla because the CEO is meddling in politics and says things that morally don’t align with my views, but I’ll hop on a Boeing plane who’s company knowingly manufactured aircraft’s that dropped bombs on children’s hospitals just a few months back, and I’ll be on my way to sip a pina colada in Tenerife.
TY78910 · 23/02/2025 08:52

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:38

So what about the car companies (Toyota, Ford etc) that manufacture and directly supply armies known to use them in harming civilians? Or Boeing? Do we just pick and choose which people we want to protect by boycotting a brand?

No brand is perfect but I just don't think the above is in the same league as buying a new Tesla today. A car brand is very much tied to its image. I also wouldn't buy a RR because of the perception of them breaking down, getting stolen & high insurances.

I guess that's the point. There have been several comments on here saying that they won't buy a Tesla because of the perception it creates. It's more about what people think of you, as opposed to actually wanting to make an impact. Musk is a d*ck but AFAIK he's not held a gun to a mother's head in front of her children. To put it lightly.

bullrushes · 23/02/2025 08:55

a significant number in this university town have stickers over the Tesla symbol.

Ratherubbish · 23/02/2025 08:58

Well the flex value of the brand is gone.

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:58

@TY78910

"It's more about what people think of you, as opposed to actually wanting to make an impact"

Why can't it do both? After an initial surge the share price has fallen back and any think it will fall further. Prices of cars were already cut last year because of drops in sales.

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 08:59

more about what people think of you

Isn't this something called advertising & what car brands spend millions on?

Cecilly · 23/02/2025 09:00

I'm in the market for a new car but would never consider a Tesla. Apart from the fact that it's now thought of as a "Nazi mobile swasticar" they just look so boring.

ohyesherewego · 23/02/2025 09:01

bellsend · 22/02/2025 20:57

Nope. I like our Tesla.

Same

pizzaHeart · 23/02/2025 09:03

@TY78910
its interesting, videos of Musk speaking never pop up on my SM so maybe there is a reason why they do on yours. Just saying.

I don’t pretend that all my choices are super moral - I use Amazon and go to supermarket instead of local farm shop. However it’s like with everything in real life - you draw a line at certain things.
I wouldn’t buy a Tesla because of Musk’s views/ interference etc. And I would think less of people who would.

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 09:06

pizzaHeart · 23/02/2025 09:03

@TY78910
its interesting, videos of Musk speaking never pop up on my SM so maybe there is a reason why they do on yours. Just saying.

I don’t pretend that all my choices are super moral - I use Amazon and go to supermarket instead of local farm shop. However it’s like with everything in real life - you draw a line at certain things.
I wouldn’t buy a Tesla because of Musk’s views/ interference etc. And I would think less of people who would.

They don't, that's the point. I spend a lot of time on SM so the odd thing about him is bound to pop up. Because I actively don't engage in it, my feed isn't plastered with his stuff. I think you missed the point there.

Tryingtokeepgoing · 23/02/2025 09:07

ploppydoppy · 22/02/2025 23:23

People hates money here so anything you wear or buy that is not “socially acceptable” or that not many people can afford and you get judged and gossiped about it anyway.

I didn't think Tesla's were particularly expensive?

Teslas are now cheap fleet cars basically - the Ford Mondeo of the 21st century. I was a (relatively) early adopter and had a model S in 2014. But there was no other choice back then really. It was amazingly quick, but poorly built compared to European ‘premium’ cars. Today they still sell the same car, though not in the UK where you can only get the little one, which is a very long lifecycle for a car. The model 3 is an old design that’s had a light facelift, but there are no plans to replace it. People rave about the the tech, but I just think they haven’t driven a modern car. They don’t even come with apple car play. They have fallen behind on the self driving stuff, the self parking is poor, the auto wipers don’t wipe and only recently have they rolled out a clunky, basic version of matrix lights that the rest of the world have been using for years.

Trump moans that European manufacturers sell far more cars in the US than Americans do in Europe, and so they should slap on tariffs. Alternatively, as he’s such a fan of the market, perhaps if American companies made cars people outside the US wanted to buy they’d sell more of them…

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 09:08

my point about other brands being problematic is merely to say that that there is a level of hypocrisy in saying “I won’t buy a Tesla because the CEO is meddling in politics and says things that morally don’t align with my views, but I’ll hop on a Boeing plane who’s company knowingly manufactured aircraft’s that dropped bombs on children’s hospitals just a few months back, and I’ll be on my way to sip a pina colada in Tenerife.

So which airline manufacturer can one choose for a holiday that isn't involved in some form of defence?

I still don't see that as the same as going out & choosing to buy a new car who has a very profile CEO sharing Nazi sentiment. But everyone is different.

LennBob · 23/02/2025 09:09

We have one but we also have other cars including a Range Rover so people probably judge us anyway

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 09:10

@Tryingtokeepgoing thanks. As a said upthread all the taxi/uber drivers I see have Tesla's.

TY78910 · 23/02/2025 09:12

ploppydoppy · 23/02/2025 09:08

my point about other brands being problematic is merely to say that that there is a level of hypocrisy in saying “I won’t buy a Tesla because the CEO is meddling in politics and says things that morally don’t align with my views, but I’ll hop on a Boeing plane who’s company knowingly manufactured aircraft’s that dropped bombs on children’s hospitals just a few months back, and I’ll be on my way to sip a pina colada in Tenerife.

So which airline manufacturer can one choose for a holiday that isn't involved in some form of defence?

I still don't see that as the same as going out & choosing to buy a new car who has a very profile CEO sharing Nazi sentiment. But everyone is different.

I wholeheartedly agree. One did a Nazi salute and the other is killing innocent people. Completely different.

Snoken · 23/02/2025 09:13

@TY78910 I agree with you on point 1.

Point 2, my opinion is that as the top individual shareholder of Tesla, Musk definitely is the brand. Not denying there are people working for Tesla who are great, I'm sure they are, but that still doesn't justify supporting Musk.

Point 3, here we are very different. I think as consumers we should definitely shop with awareness, especially when it's a brand that is so closely linked to a nazi.

On point 4, maybe there are hypocrites out there who have no issue with choosing one bad thing but boycott another, but not everyone is and it would be better to spread the word about Boeing in this case rather than minimising Musk's by saying he's just like everyone else, He really isn't.