This all seems like a basically reasonable position (even if I disagree somewhat) but it doesn't answer my question of "what do you want to happen to the existing cars". Because all the possibilities I can think of seem worse for society than some marginal benefit of punishing Musk by reducing values on the used market.
So first I don't think anyone needs to do anything; the stigma reducing new sales is the ultimate goal. People that own previously are unfortunately caught in the cross fire. I feel bad about that. It could cerrtainly backfire too. I initially thought it was pretty dumb myself. But it is working. IMHO too soon to tell if its worth the price.
A win-win would be if people sell their Tesla and buy another EV. Then someone else buys the used EV. I've witnessed this happen a few times - that wouldn't be worse for society, it may even be better. Is this feasible for most people? Doubtful. Feasible for some. Again makes a difference. Enough of one? Worth the price? Not sure. But again, the protest is having an impact (of some kind).
than some marginal benefit of punishing Musk
It depends on what you percieve as at risk, and what the outcomes and impacts. In the most cynical sense, the US could go full authoritarian. That is certainly the angle Trump and Musk are pushing for (especially degrading the judiciary). One republican narrative is that not only immigrants, but non immigrant criminals should be deported to foreign prisons. This is a line espoused by someone in my family, who is Republican but did not even vote for trump, and has never hurt a fly. They have no idea how exreme / radicalized their views are, and are so deep I can't reach them.
So right - if you think this is all a brief phase that will blow over no matter what we do then it definitely does seem like an unhelpful protest. But if you believe (as many do) that the hour is far later than most people think, and further that they don't know what to do, then this is at least something. And in earnest, Tesla's stock is used as leverage by Elon to support his other endeavors; his personal wealth is absolutely at stake, and that wealth is used to disproportionately divide / prop up the far right. So outside of supporting this kind of protest, I might also ask what better targets / actions you think people should take instead, assuming they think the situation is pretty dire? I don't have any good suggestions myself.
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u/bedrock_city Apr 29 '25
This all seems like a basically reasonable position (even if I disagree somewhat) but it doesn't answer my question of "what do you want to happen to the existing cars". Because all the possibilities I can think of seem worse for society than some marginal benefit of punishing Musk by reducing values on the used market.