Would you still buy a Tesla in the light of Elon Musk's contributions to the British political scene?

[DelW]

Moderator note:
Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/tell-us-about-your-electric-vehicle.267881/#post-6886787

With Musk currently disseminating outright lies about Britain and its government, encouraging extremist rioters and racists, and promoting the view that civil war here is inevitable, how do Tesla owners feel about their cars now?

Does the close relationship between the company that built their car and the vile behaviour of its owner concern them?

I've never been tempted by one, but I'd be ashamed to even be seen in one now, let alone have one on my drive.

 

[Welly]

Buying a second hand Tesla will not send a penny to the musk rat.

 

[bspahh]

Buying a second hand Tesla will not send a penny to the musk rat.

It supports the second hand value, which means that the leasing cost for a new Tesla will be cheaper. You would need to pay Tesla for spare parts and if you use its charging network.

 

[SteveP29]

No.

But then again, my stance hasn't changed, I wouldn't anyway before all of his crass comments.

I do think it's a little harsh on the 'actual' inventors/ designers of Tesla though, just Space Karen hijacked the company for his own ends, he didn't invent, design or build any of their vehicles

 

[nlogax]

Clueless younger me would have bought a Roadster fifteen years ago. Subsequently old wiser me won't go near a Tesla for love nor money.

 

[DarloRich]

No - I cant afford one anyway!

 

[birchesgreen]

No, but i wouldn't anyway due to their poor build quality and ageing specs.

Musk's behaviour would put me off even if their product improved (which is unlikely now considering Musk thinks Tesla isn't a car company anymore).

 

[AlterEgo]

I wouldn't buy one anyway.

 

[Broucek]

Interesting question, people were happily buying from Renault / Nissan before everything came out about Carlos Ghosn using "company funds for personal investments and misusing corporate assets" and under-reporting their pay (a big deal in a publicly traded company).

Carlos Ghosn - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[birchesgreen]

Interesting question, people were happily buying from Renault / Nissan before everything came out about Carlos Ghosn using "company funds for personal investments and misusing corporate assets" and under-reporting their pay (a big deal in a publicly traded company).

Carlos Ghosn - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Whats that got to do with what Elon does, is?

Many big companies are run by dodgy men, though in most cases it is pretty hidden to most people or not stuff that matters to many.

 

[sannox]

I've had one as a rental. The car I liked more than I thought it would but too many features hidden away in a tablet and not enough actual easy to press buttons. I believe they have now got indicators as haptic buttons which sounds terrible!

Would I buy one? Probably not- the car was fine but I felt didn't justify the price. I feel there are nicer cars out there from traditional manufacturers.

 

[OuterDistant]

I hear that to repair some of the bad PR, Musk is renaming the company to Hitler Motors.

 

[gg1]

I wouldn't have bought one anyway, nothing against EVs generally but I think Teslas are bland on the outside, ugly on the inside and I have a strong dislike of touchscreen controls in cars, something which Tesla takes to the extreme.

Having said that, if he did produce a car I liked, his antics would put me off buying one.

 

[Harpers Tate]

I'd agree with that last sentence. If they made a car that suited me (which, in my case, would be like a model 3 but a hatchback) at the right price, then I wouldn't care who made it.

 

[3141]

No, but I wouldn't buy an EV anyway because of the initial cost (actually I'd find it hard to afford any new car), and the limited range. I want a car in which we can drive 300+ miles before having to stop and wait half an hour while it recharges.

 

[DelW]

No responses yet from current Tesla owners, to whom the original question was directed. All feeling too shy this week?

Meanwhile the Guardian is looking at the issue today:

‘His rhetoric has made Tesla toxic’: is Elon Musk driving away his target market?

There are signs the billionaire is becoming unpopular with the very demographic group most likely to buy EVs

amp.theguardian.com

Elon Musk has long flirted with rightwing politics, and delights in pushing an image of himself as a contrarian showman. Yet in recent months the billionaire’s political allegiances have started to raise a question for Tesla, the company that he built into the world’s largest electric carmaker: just how far can he go before customers start to abandon his products?

In Tesla online forums owners of the cars debate whether Musk’s politics have affected the brand. Bumper stickers are available for purchase online featuring slogans such as: “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.”

(image of Tesla car with that sticker)

If I had a Tesla, I'd be adding one of those!

 

[DustyBin]

I wouldn’t have bought one before to be honest. I could have one as a company car but don’t, and it’s interesting that the vast majority of my colleagues drive “something else” with Musk apparently being one of the reasons (although many also cite the awful interiors as well!).

I wouldn’t drive anything Chinese either given what’s going on the world; it seems bizzare to me that so many people actively seek to support the economy of a hostile state by dropping £30k+ on a Chinese car.

Before anyone calls me a hypocrite, yes I occasionally buy things made (or partially made) in China as it’s practically impossible to avoid doing so, but I put my money where my mouth is where there’s an alternative. It’s a not a great sacrifice in truth as I don’t like tat anyway.

 

[edwin_m]

No responses yet from current Tesla owners, to whom the original question was directed. All feeling too shy this week?

Wouldn't have thought this forum is a natural habitat for Tesla owners...

I'll probably be in the market for an EV at some point but previous Musk behaviour means I wouldn't have considered Tesla even before recent events.

 

[DelW]

Wouldn't have thought this forum is a natural habitat for Tesla owners...

There are or at least were a number who posted regularly in the various electric car threads in the Other Transport forum, but those discussions have gone quiet in the last few weeks too.

 

[Irascible]

I wouldn't go near a Tesla anyway, he's got little bearing on the decision ( other than having some responsibility for how the company operates ). What I think of his personal opinions & meddling are a whole other matter & would get me banned ( and at times, in the current climate, arrested ) if I wrote them on a public forum.

Chinese stuff and state politics affecting buying is less clear - while I don't like the Chinese political establishment one bit, I also don't like the US one either, or several other places. Does that stop you interacting with people from those places? do you think they're all to blame for their governments and their decisions? "China" still covers Hong Kong, who're still resisting in their own way, will you punish the inhabitants for their flag? I've never met an Iranian yet ( and I've met a surprising number when I think about it ) I haven't liked, but I'm not going to go there. Being pragmatic, I wouldn't buy anything Russian for instance, because you don't know how well it's been produced & there's no guarantee of aftersales support. Would you buy something from a company partly in Belarus? ( if you're a flight simmer there are a couple around ) their populace seems to be effectively under occupation given how corrupt their elections have been, are you going to further punish belarussians for that?

Doing some due diligence doesn't hurt, if possible - if you don't like the state then an obviously state owned company is something to avoid buying from, but there are degrees of separation. The other thing is in a global supply chain you're always going to be contributing to an actor you've no time for - there's a lot of Chinese & Middle east ( and European establishment, and US establishment - let's be a bit equal listing our actors ) money slushing around in just about everything we touch. Reward the creators of good products or boycott them if they've personally caused you to avoid them or if they're effectively a front for something you don't like, not just because they happened to be under a specific flag.

 

[Harpers Tate]

I want a car in which we can drive 300+ miles before having to stop and wait half an hour while it recharges.

I'll take the libery, if I may, of paraphrasing that for you.

I want a car in which we can drive for at least 5 hours without stopping for any refreshment or physical needs activity.

========================================================================

On the other recent (off-) topic here - China. Whilst I can sympathise with the view that supporting the Chinese economy may not be hugely palatable, the simple fact of the matter is that, as things stand, if we immediately did away with anything Chinese and never bought anything else, most of what we take for granted would simply disappear. That iphone or Android or computer and/or its peripherals you are using to post, for a start. And quite possibly some important bits of your non-Chinese car. The list goes on and on. So - why might one drop £30k on a Chinese car? Perhaps because one would need to spend £40k to get anything equivalent that's mostly not-Chinese.

 

[3141]

I'll take the libery, if I may, of paraphrasing that for you.

I want a car in which we can drive for at least 5 hours without stopping for any refreshment or physical needs activity.

Not quite. There are two of us. With a petrol or diesel car, we can decide where we want to stop for a break. Maybe off the motorway/main road where we know somewhere nice which doesn't have refuelling or recharging facilities. Once stopped, we don't have to remain stopped till the car has recharged. Our arrangements decided by us and not the car. I know that some recent EV models have improved range, but I don't want to spend a lot more on a new car when I can buy something a few years old will will serve us very well. A cheaper used EV would mean lower range.

So from my viewpoint, Elon Musk gets away with his outrageous remarks.

 

[DustyBin]

Chinese stuff and state politics affecting buying is less clear - while I don't like the Chinese political establishment one bit, I also don't like the US one either, or several other places. Does that stop you interacting with people from those places? do you think they're all to blame for their governments and their decisions? "China" still covers Hong Kong, who're still resisting in their own way, will you punish the inhabitants for their flag? I've never met an Iranian yet ( and I've met a surprising number when I think about it ) I haven't liked, but I'm not going to go there. Being pragmatic, I wouldn't buy anything Russian for instance, because you don't know how well it's been produced & there's no guarantee of aftersales support. Would you buy something from a company partly in Belarus? ( if you're a flight simmer there are a couple around ) their populace seems to be effectively under occupation given how corrupt their elections have been, are you going to further punish belarussians for that?

Doing some due diligence doesn't hurt, if possible - if you don't like the state then an obviously state owned company is something to avoid buying from, but there are degrees of separation. The other thing is in a global supply chain you're always going to be contributing to an actor you've no time for - there's a lot of Chinese & Middle east ( and European establishment, and US establishment - let's be a bit equal listing our actors ) money slushing around in just about everything we touch. Reward the creators of good products or boycott them if they've personally caused you to avoid them or if they're effectively a front for something you don't like, not just because they happened to be under a specific flag.

All fair points in my opinion.

My issue with China is indeed the CCP, not the unfortunate people living under the regime (just to be clear!). There are various governments/regimes that I find “disagreeable”, however I view the likes of the CCP, along with the likes of Putin, as an actual threat to our security. It’s more about pragmatism than morals if I’m brutally honest!

On the other recent (off-) topic here - China. Whilst I can sympathise with the view that supporting the Chinese economy may not be hugely palatable, the simple fact of the matter is that, as things stand, if we immediately did away with anything Chinese and never bought anything else, most of what we take for granted would simply disappear. That iphone or Android or computer and/or its peripherals you are using to post, for a start. And quite possibly some important bits of your non-Chinese car. The list goes on and on. So - why might one drop £30k on a Chinese car? Perhaps because one would need to spend £40k to get anything equivalent that's mostly not-Chinese.

Again this is all fair enough, and I caveated my original post by stating that Chinese products are in reality practically impossible to avoid altogether. I also recognise the fact that some people aren’t in a position to overlook the apparent value for money Chinese cars offer, although I also think many people exist in a bubble and lack awareness of the geopolitical situation.

 

[Harpers Tate]

With a petrol or diesel car, we can decide where we want to stop for a break. Maybe off the motorway/main road where we know somewhere nice.....Once stopped, we don't have to remain stopped till the car has recharged.

I did use a major road(side) charger once in 2017 just after I got my first EV, when remote chargers were still pretty rare. Not since. There are plenty of chargers situated "somewhere nice" and being "forced" into choosing one of these may reveal a new "somewhere nice" you haven't previously discovered. Like, the towsn of Pickering NY, for example, where you can use the council car park for free as you top up. And you don't have to remain stopped beyond the time it takes to give you the further range to get where you are going. A 250 mile nominal car becomes a 350 mile car after the length of time it takes to take a leak and have a coffee. It's a different approach, that's all. We can choose to make this as easy or as difficult as we wish.

 

[DelW]

No, but I wouldn't buy an EV anyway because of the initial cost (actually I'd find it hard to afford any new car), and the limited range. I want a car in which we can drive 300+ miles before having to stop and wait half an hour while it recharges.

I did use a major road(side) charger once in 2017 just after I got my first EV, when remote chargers were still pretty rare. Not since. There are plenty of chargers situated "somewhere nice" and being "forced" into choosing one of these may reveal a new "somewhere nice" you haven't previously discovered. Like, the towsn of Pickering NY, for example, where you can use the council car park for free as you top up. And you don't have to remain stopped beyond the time it takes to give you the further range to get where you are going. A 250 mile nominal car becomes a 350 mile car after the length of time it takes to take a leak and have a coffee. It's a different approach, that's all. We can choose to make this as easy or as difficult as we wish.

These matters have been debated endlessly in other threads, which are still available.

I'm much more interested in how Musk's recent outbursts have affected people's views of Teslas, not in EVs in general.

 

[Eyersey468]

No but then I wouldn't buy one anyway because I don't like Elon Musk

 

[Thirteen]

Teslas have lost popularity, there are better and cheaper EV out there. BYD do very nice cars and Polestar which is high end is just as good if not better than Tesla.