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The memo still hasn’t made it to everyone about the systemic function of the #TeslaTakedown protests. I still keep getting well-meaning quesitons like the one below from @tymwol.
The purpose is •not• just to register symbolic discontent. The purpose is •not• just to take individual action that directly harms Musk.
The purpose is to tank demand for Tesla’s product, and thus tank their stock price. This is Musk’s biggest vulnerability, Smaug’s exposed belly.
I’ll work that reasoning out a bit:
- Musk’s power depends entirely on wealth. Not genius; he’s a nincompoop. Wealth.
- A large portion of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock. A •very• large portion.
- His wealth is further dependent on investors believing that he alone is uniquely capable of leading companies into being “unicorns,” i.e. companies with massive future growth potential. His cult of personality is why Tesla’s stock is so wildly overvalued.
- And yes, Tesla stock is overvalued wrt fundamentals, to an absurd degree. Even after losing ~40% of its value since its peak, it’s •still• overvalued. It has a lot of room to fall.
So, what do we do about that?
2/
The proximate primary goal of #TeslaTakedown is to reduce demand for Tesla’s product. Lower demand → lower price → lower margins → lower profit. Anything that increases their financial liabilities is a bonus (e.g. overload of used vehicles from broken leases that they can’t sell), but reducing demand is the name of the game.
If Tesla becomes an unprofitable company, and a company that simply cannot become profitable as long as it has the Musk millstone around its neck, then (1) the stock tanks and (2) having Musk in charge becomes a liability.
3/
How do we reduce demand?
- Make the Tesla brand SOCIALLY TOXIC: shameful, embarrassing, cringy, un-sexy, nauseating. Buying one should •feel bad•. Make people a little sick to their stomach when they come in for that test drive.
4/
- Make the Tesla brand a PRACTICAL LIABILITY: maybe you don’t feel bad about buying one, but…people vandalize them, and so many people are getting rid of them that the resale value is going to be crap for a long time. Owning one is a headache, and you’re going to lose a lot of money on it.
(I get a lot of replies to the effect of “How does it hurt Musk to get rid of a car you already bought??” Get your systems thinking hat on! A supply glut in the used market both creates downward price pressure on new cars •and• changes people’s financial expectations when buying a new one.)
4/
- Make the Tesla brand FRIGHTENING: They surveil you. They trap you inside. They burn people alive on a regular basis. They’re extremely vulnerable to hacking, even more than other modern cars with OTA software updates. One of these days, some hacker is going to make every Tesla in the country drive through its garage door…or worse. Driving a Tesla puts you in danger.
(This isn’t just logical; it’s visceral. Bombard people with images of Teslas vandalized, smashed, on fire. Make it a Pavlovian reaction: Tesla = danger, chaos, destruction.)
5/
@inthehands highlight again and again how risky Teslas are if you have kids. I know one big reason I will never buy one (even before the past few years) is how hard they are to exit if the power doors fail (due to loss of power - like in case of an accident).
I've looked up the process to open their doors in the case of power loss - it is hard for adults to do and remember when not in an emergency - it seems implausible for kids
@inthehands for example this is from 2023 on how to get out of a Tesla in case of power loss.
read this. Then imagine asking a kid to remember the steps (and in many of the Teslas it requires rear seat passengers to climb to the front seats first)
(not sure if there are - as is likely - any changes in 2024 or 2025 models)
@Rycaut @inthehands I just dug into this myself and found an article that suggests the backup option for doing this from the outside is...a different way of charging the battery?
The article also implies a guy who got stuck inside one is stupid for not spotting a manual release that Tesla seems to have made an effort to conceal, so I find it telling they have to present this as an obvious solution. https://www.carscoops.com/2023/08/man-gets-trapped-in-hot-tesla-after-battery-dies-as-he-wasnt-aware-of-manual-release/
@DamonWakes @inthehands that’s an infuriating article.
If there is a manual release that isn’t clearly visible or easily discoverable from inside in case of an emergency the blame is entirely in the hands of the car manufacturer. Blaming the person trapped in the car for not reading the manual is blaming the victim.
(Consider a passenger or a child)
And “charging the battery from the outside” is also a crazy solution to “pets or child or anyone trapped in a vehicle”
@Rycaut @DamonWakes @inthehands I would also suggest that it's a failure of regulatory agencies allowing such death traps to be sold that way (as well).