by Pa Rock
Road Warrior
I wanted to spend some time today talking about Tesla.
A couple of years ago my son and I pulled up behind a Tesla here in Kansas City. I saw a few in a showroom in Hawaii, but the Tesla in Kansas City is the only one that I have ever seen in the wild. I was somewhat impressed - but not nearly as impressed as the day the same son and I drove up behind a new Lamborghini on the streets of Los Angeles.
I am no longer impressed by Tesla - at all. There is no way that I would ever channel my my monthly Social Security pittance into the pocket of the immigrant who is trying to take it away from me.
The past few days there has been a trifecta of power plays coming from the White House pushing people to buy Tesla automobiles as well as to purchase Tesla stock. And yesterday there was also a not-so-subtle threat from the Attorney General warning people against protesting outside of Tesla dealerships and damaging vehicles, things she referred to as "domestic terrorism."
I don't remember a time when a President of Our United States has ever publicly endorsed a particular commercial product, yet a week ago there was Donald John Trump standing on the South Lawn of the White House along with his top campaign donor (and founder and CEO of Tesla), Elon Musk, filming an informercial for the car company using our White House as his backdrop. Not only was the sales pitch tawdry, it was highly unethical. If Trump wants to be a pitchman for Musk-mobiles, let him do it at Mar-a-Lago after he leaves office!
But it gets worse - of course it gets worse. Yesterday Howard Lutnick, the US Secretary of Commerce, a Trump appointee, appeared on a Fox News show, and, in what seemed like extraordinarily strong terms, urged the show's host - and the viewing public - to invest in Tesla stock. Lutnick said (correctly) that the stock is cheap right now, and he encouraged people to load up on it.
(Tesla stock is low for a reason, just as Tesla cars are experiencing low sales for a reason - and that reason is Elon Musk mucking about in the US government putting things like peoples' health insurance, retirements, and general financial stability at risk - or perhaps people have just not warmed to the idea of the United States of America being turned into a racist, homophobic, and uneducated hellhole.)
And now we have the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, another Trump appointee, warning Americans that they will be regarded as "domestic terrorists" for things like demonstrating outside of Tesla dealerships or, God forbid, actually damaging a car. Ms. Bondi smiled as she said the punishment for such evil acts could be as much as twenty years in prison.
If we had a US Department of Justice or a Congress that actually worked for the people, they would be waist-deep into investigating these unethical political shenanigans by now.
There have been memes all over the internet reminding us that killing a couple of dozen young school children in their classrooms, in the United States of America, garners little more than "thoughts and prayers," but now standing outside of a car dealership or damaging a car can result in twenty years behind bars. If it's a child, how sad - but if it's a Tesla, send in the Marines!
Children are our bridge to the future, the world yet to come - and a Tesla is just a car! Get a grip Pam! And you, too, Donnie and Howard. The world is about a lot more than just you and your rich friends. Human rights should have at least as much value as property rights.
For those who haven't figured it out yet, the Tesla demonstrations and boycotts have definitely hit a few raw nerves. The price of the stock has tumbled - and it fell again after Lutnick's shameless promotion of the stock, and people are shying away from the growing stigma of owning a Tesla.
Don't buy Teslas - and don't buy Tesla stock! Be better than that, America!
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