I don’t think my views on the evil Nazi Elon Musk are a secret. And I understand that when confronted with rich Nazis, there is going to be a certain percentage of the population that responds with violence. So I am not hyper-ventilating over some burning Swasticars in car sales lots. The Nazi will survive this little ding in his fortunes. And watching his fellow Nazi Trump whipsaw from “EVs are EVil!” to “If you don’t buy a Tesla you are a terrorist” has been entertaining and informative about the priorities of the Cult leadership and the utter gullibility of the Cult.
…as has been the Tyrant’s orgasmic love of torture fantasies for property damage:
That said, I think the blanket demonization of Tesla owners is a remarkable display of short memory. It was just a couple of years ago that buying a Tesla was regarded as an act of civic and environmental virtue by the very people who are now issuing bulls of excommunication from the human race against all Tesla owners en masse. People were investing in EVs, not out of dedication to Musk’s vision of the Master Race, but because, not knowing diddly about Musk, they were trying to strike a blow against fossil fuel consumption for entirely good reasons and out of entirely good motivations. And given the cost of such vehicles it was often done at considerable self-sacrifice. For 100% related reasons, suddenly selling such a vehicle at considerable markdown may well be difficult, if not impossible for many people, especially if they are a one car family.
It’s a bit hard on nice people, trying to do the right thing, to be whipsawed from Tree-Hugging Liberal Idiot to Nazi Sympathizer in the space of a couple of months. Consider it possible that Tesla owners might have been motivated by entirely noble goals (especially owners of older models) before you damn them to Hell and destroy their property in your self-regarding Righteousness.
A couple of years ago, owning a Tesla was a badge of forward-thinking concern for the earth as our common home and the Tyrant was regarded as the Trousered Ape he, in fact, is for denouncing EVs and alternative energy. Now, weirdly, the roles are reversed and he is hawking Swasticars for one reason: because Elon owns him and is a fellow Nazi. But the people who innocently bought the cars may very well have had no idea who Musk was beyond the vague perception of his crafted media image of Tony Stark on “The Big Bang Theory”. Cut people slack for not always being up to speed when they are obviously trying to do the right thing.
I have more to say on this and related issue, but I will save it for next week.
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13 Responses
Not only could it be financially prohibitive for a family to sell the car at a loss, but if the evil is in OWNING a tesla, who is going to buy it? Would you want to buy a car, even at a steep discount, that is liable to get vandalized? Or at least leave you open to social criticism? The tesla vandals have definitely created a lose-lose situation for those they are theoretically trying to influence.
As a South African, I can say that Musk is not popular at all in South Africa. Most of us genuinely suspect that he’s somewhere on the autism spectrum. And evidence that points to his being a white supremacist should not be taken lightly.
Most people are unaware of how stringent and institutionalized Apartheid South Africa really was right up until the 1980s (which included the old government using Christian theology and especially pseudoscience in its nationwide propaganda to justify its white supremacism). Musk grew up in the last years of this environment and his wealthy family benefited directly from the Apartheid system.
I’m also reminded by this post, of our recent surprise at President Donald Trump offering asylum to Afrikaans White South Africans, due to alleged claims of racial persecution by the ANC government. I think most of us were surprised because we find it striking that the US President would zoom in on our country (of all countries) and that he would offer asylum to White Afrikaners, given his strict anti-immigration policies. I’ve since wondered if it isn’t due to Musk’s influence. The fact that most, or virtually all, Afrikaners have so far rejected this offer (I personally haven’t heard anything to the contrary) speaks volumes about their alleged claim of being persecuted in their home country.
Most white South Africans I’ve come across in recent years didn’t seem all that oppressed.
Many of their families still had prosperous farms and other businesses and servants at home.
Yes, exactly.
31 years after the end of apartheid, minority white South Africans still control most of the nation’s economy. They also occupy the majority of senior management-level positions and have the lowest unemployment rate.
My guess is that most Afrikaners would reject President Trump’s offer of asylum because it would mean losing their privileges and high standard of living in South Africa.
Your first problem with Elon Much is that he may be autistic, followed by the possibility that he might be white supremacist. You are definitely a South African.
You’re right.
And as a South African speaking for many of Musk’s compatriots, this gives me a unique perspective on Musk.
Nonetheless, since we’ve both clearly shared our views and I’m done sharing mine, this will be my last comment on this topic.
Being on the autism spectrum isn’t a cause for concern. So was Einstein. And Henry Cavendish. And likely Michelangelo and Sir Isaac Newton. Being on the autism spectrum isn’t a cause for concern.
Being an oligarch with fondness for Nazis is a genuine cause for concern.
I’m ready for Musk to finally just man up and be honest with the world. Shave his head and get a lap cat and be done.
I would never vandalize a Tesla, but I will never buy one. Electric vehicles might be the future but there are other options,
Tesla stock has really gone down, so Elon has lost tens of billions of Dollars, at least on paper. I have to smile at that.
It’s curious that Uber rich billionaires just want more and more. Their wealth is never enough. They appear to have greed on steroids. And yet, many so called “Christians” appear to idolize these people. Perhaps they should read Matthew 25?
There lurks an interesting question beneath all this, and that’s how just war theory applies or not to guerrilla warfare/asymetric warfare/let’s call it what it really is, a form of terrorism.
Even a year or two ago, I would have said that there is no justification for unlawful violence of any kind. Now….I’m not exactly saying there is, but I find it a lot harder to exercise moral high ground on that question when we have become a nation that revels in criminality. We are led by a felon, and one who never has and almost certainly never will pay that debt to society. He was put in power by terrorists who see terrorism as legitimate First Amendment activity.
This same regime is routinely and proudly violating countless statutes and major sections of the Constitution. At this point, I just can’t find a lot of tears left when some of the criminality blows back on the criminals themselves. In all seriousness, actual historical pirate kingdoms had far more respect for rule of law and order, at least among their own ranks, than the people in charge of us now.
That said, the moral question aside, attacking the property of regular people in order to get back at Musk is, to say the least, strategically fraught. It is, after a fashion, crudely effective. I believe sales are being affected in some measure by people’s fears that their car will be destroyed by strangers. I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks bumper stickers to the effect of “I bought a Tesla before I knew Musk was a (fill in the blank)”.
On the other hand, it’s going to alienate many people we need as allies against this madness, and it hurts people who, in large measure, never supported the agenda they’re angry about. At least if they were cars still on the company’s lot, that’s one thing…..
The other problem is that sooner or later, and not very later, some innocent person, a bystander or a firefighter most likely, is going to lose their life due to this. Arson of any kind and lithium fires in particular are a real fiasco, to put it mildly.
Lithium fires from the battery can be very dangerous. I have read advice to Tesla owners to park their cars in the driveway, not in the garage. God forbid your Tesla catches fire in your garage.
I don’t have an electric car, but I did convert my golf cart over to lithium batteries a few years ago. They have much better range and shorter charging time and make the cart like 300 pounds lighter than with the old lead batteries.
But I do park it in the yard at my campground. In the past I sometimes pulled it up on the deck to keep it out of the weather.
Well put, Mark, exactly.