Fanboys

A Fanboy in the Wild.

Yeah that's me. Not pretty. Sincere though. I have two grown sons who I worry for.

Social Media Clowning for Fun and No Profit.

A Car centric social media group leader, Russell Frost, that I respect has a weekly cast about Tesla and one about the future of transport technology.  The Tesla Life and What Drives Us. I am a 'fan' and I enjoy hanging out on the chat windows for both shows. I freely admit to being too sophomoric given the whole group of commenters and chat folk.  With a beer in hand I am probably not nearly as funny as I think am.   If I was trying to be fair I'd put myself in the Tesla fan category and Russell in the critic side.  I like to think we both have valid points and can at least wear the other side's shoes.

This is the kind of back and forth and discussion I like. Where both sides can laugh at themselves and see honest points that they would not have made.

The negative sides of my hard core Fanboys.

So before we jump into downside of climate change deniers let's state the obvious. Being blind to examining the whole of issues and bullying the other side is a hard core mistake on the eco side.  Even those of us trying to be fair and self examining will stray into this - I have jumped in people's manure because I felt they were pushing the TSLAQ agenda.  This agenda in stock lingo is to push Tesla to bankruptcy.  Even with this threat to a leader in sustainability there is not room for troll behavior.  The bullying is out there too.  Just because one self identifies as part of this 'eco' tribe we feel righteous about, regardless of positives, we need to look at ourselves and our motivating ideas every day.  Find the flaws and issues in our own commandments and plans for action.  Without critique or self examination though how do we get to improvement?  Improvement in this movement really needs to happen for the whole world to work on population growth, climate change, sustainable energy and materials, and an secure home for Earth's life.

So a next big negative is not appreciating other voices, organizations,  and car makers are part of a big system we need for sustainable life on Earth.  Tesla alone winning in a zero sum game that probably results in so much waste that the overall goal is never achieved.  If as a fanboy you can't at least examine other EV car makers and sustainable industries with hope and a genuine desire for success then our side has a real problem.  Somehow BOYS, we have to remain open and listening in a world that disparages ecological motives, add and respect women's voices on our side, and not adopt the worst 'shout them down' behavior we see elsewhere.  

So a self exam is in order.  Another big point is a leading company like Tesla can't have a self exam unless it is open in problem areas such as employee treatment and warranty support for customers.  Similarly we the fans have to self examine what is positive in our social media interaction and what just feeds the trolls. What distinguishes a troll vs a critic with a point?

One area I think critics have valid points on is Tesla employee treatment.  My best guess is that voices on this have enough smoke that there is some real fire. Conversely I think the troll and UAW special interests blow up the scale of these issues - we have discussed this in earlier blogs here.  I don't think it can be denied that Tesla is amateurish is handling employee morale, hiring, and layoffs. The question is how does this improve without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

However there are Bears in these woods.

I don't just mean stock players trying depress the TSLA price in a short strategy.  We have established industries, like oil/coal, directly financing lobbies with social media teams pressing anti Tesla memes and trolling.  Employees hurt by disruptive Tesla in their old line functions such as ICE car makers and dealership owners. Engine, emission, and transmission repair shops and workers.   

Media too is none too thrilled with the Tesla 'no ads' system. I see articles that range from fawning praise to nonsensical 'death watch' pieces. If you are writing the latter, I really don't think you can cry too loudly as in a Python skit 'Help, Help I'm being repressed!'.  While I encourage civility and calm retort, I'll be honest - I hope someday those leading us down a path to a ravaged Earth are one day called to account. 

 The Alligators are real in this swamp:

                                       

Credit where credit is due.

So my retirement is in indexed funds. I also have a little Roth account for play though and instead of being in something sensible it's in Tesla.  Long.  Just for the mission.  TSLAQ can depress the price, I'll be long and support Tesla's current governance as long as they adhere to the mission.  I do hope for better employee conditions, more realistic time frames on goals, and less 'monkey business' in the news.  I have Tesla Solar panels and a Powerwall working in a very nice system for my cottage charging my car - a Tesla Model 3.  I didn't start here.  I worked for NOAA and became aware of atmospheric carbon levels 20 years ago.  I tried the Honda Civic hybrid, the Nissan Leaf and the Think City.  None was enough of an improvement to really sell electrics to my mainstream friends.  Musk may not be a saint or a genius, but he is smart enough to be leading and growing a company dedicated to attractive sustainable solutions for our planet's future.  I can put up with some ego if that mission continues.

This is also why even though I want Tesla to improve employee relations I would oppose having that done at the expense of the mission. Thus far Tesla has been the only car maker a no compromise electric car at near to what I could afford.  I credit Nissan and GM for making a lukewarm entry with decent cars.  Tesla is the primary one pushing everyone.  I believe VW, Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, and the others are sincere but not fully committed.  Maybe Rivian, maybe Hyundai.  Until we get full in players I support the leader in electrification and hope for more leaders.  

                                                                          

Finally a note on incentives.

I'm retired - I have no regular payments from anyone to say anything.  For recommending Tesla's to car buyers I have received 2 Tesla charge cables ($500 each. One given to a friend and one to my son), early OTA updates (that usually aren't that early), a party invite (Model Y party, paid for my own transport and hotel - kinda dull actually), and eventually one week's rental of a Model X (given to my other non-tesla son to get him considering a Tesla car).  These 5 incentives were in return for 6 Tesla car sale referrals.  Tesla gave me nada for the sixth referral which didn't trouble me at all.  I'm fine with these incentives to be honest I see no way they would sway my opinions - good and bad of the Tesla brand and technology. Anyone needing a referral just ask in the comments section - I have no issues doing so and it gets the car buyer and myself some free supercharging miles.  Enjoy!