TA.b - Tesla Talk 5.20b - Updated

Tesla, or should I say Elon Musk, has been in the news a lot recently. Musk has decided to draw a lime in the sand in regards to the State of California, Alameda County and the steps required to reopen his Fremont factory. (Is this a result of Musk's recent private meeting with his new buddy 45.) Firstly, let's mention that the Bay Area in California (San Francisco, Berkeley, Alameda County - including Fremont, Silicon Valley, etc.) has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the earliest locales to put social distancing protocols in place which successfully slowing the spread of the disease. Did these steps stop the spread of COVID-19? No and that's why officials are being cautious. People are dying...painfully. So while steps are being taken to re-open the state and the economy, officials may be overly cautious. But then who needs to die so that folks can go to the beach, a restaurant or make more money? Not me. So when Alameda County officials told Tesla, "not yet." Musk went ballistic threatening to move his main offices out of California and move to Texas (where there are few restrictions, if any) or to Nevada (where taxes are almost non-existent mostly due to the State's casinos and gambling industry). I guess Musk forgot how the State of California and Fremont helped him get started a few years ago. Where was Texas then (lining up to protect the Oil Industry I suspect)? Is this an example of the "What have you done for me lately" Janet Jackson stndrome?

What's even more interesting is that Musk wasn't so vocal when the Chinese government put restrictions on his re-opening of his factory in China. China is weeks ahead of the US in this fight and have stalled the disease spread, although after weeks of no new cases of COVID-19 in the region, COVID-19 has recently reared its ugly head once again. The point is that until we get a vaccine or treatment protocol, we're all still at risk.

I understand why Musk is upset. He built his company from scratch and has succeeded against the odds and many pundits. Many of these naysayers are just starting to come around to the idea that Tesla is alive, well, and going to continue. Then COVID-19 changed the world, probably forever. 

Musk lashing out like this doesn't prove his case. Since Fremont was once a GM and Toyota facility, there may be some lingering resentment there, but Tesla is a large employer, so... as the saying goes, get over it. Both of you. We're all suffering from this global pandemic and will for some time.

But folks are starting to notice Musk's behavior. A recent article on CNN.com asked the question, "What happened to Elon Musk?" Muxk reportedly Tweeted that these restrictions were a violation of his rights and freedoms. What about my right to not die due to his uncaring behavior and restlessness. California officials okay-ed Tesla's re-opening but with a phased in schedule over the next week. Not good enough for Musk. He opened fully anyway. I guess laws and safety don't apply to him. The UK's right-wing-leaning Daily Mail reported this morning that Musk has listed several of his California holdings (valued at over $100 million) for sale. As a Californian (born and raised) and former Tesla supporter, I say go and take your company with you. I find it interesting that he sees a move to Texas as a good idea, especially since Big Oil has such a strong foothold on the state and few Tesla's are sold there. Almost half of Tesla's sales come from California. Will folks still line-up for Musk's EVs? Probably, but in reduced numbers. I think I'm angry because I saw the future in Tesla vehicles and Musk's behavior (which I've stood up for in the past) is threatening to stall the US's acceptance of battery-electric vehicles. Since the pandemic and social-distancing have taken most folks off the road, the air is much cleaner (and sweeter) here in the LA area. You know, fewer pollutants emitted by gas-powered vehicles. They even saw the difference at the International Space Station.

What makes this doubly sad is that Tesla's vehicles are years ahead of the competition and superior in many ways. Legacy automakers continued to roll out their products with out any thought to the future. I guess it was all about money. A similar thing happened in the 1950s/60s. Automakers were pushing out these giant road-behemoths and Volkswagen came in with the Beetle and Toyota with the Corolla. The automakers laughed, until they noticed folks were buying large numbers of these small(er) cars. Laughing no more, they rushed to prepare their own small cars and we got the Pinto, Vega, etc. The same thing is happening today. Tesla's cars are years ahead of the competition in design and implementation of software. Legacy automakers are scrambling once again. I guess they had no incentive to improve cars and trucks themselves since we were buying them anyway. That is until a start-up company from Fremont, California showed the public what was possible and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Musk deserves the kudos for Tesla. But maybe it's time for him to step aside and let others take the company forward (or close his Twitter account). I remember when Apple replaced Steve Jobs with a management team from Pepsi. The new team drove the company into the ground and near bankruptcy. Bringing Jobs back, saved the company and it's now one of the largest in the world. I would hate to see that happen to Tesla. Maybe Musk could stay on as a consultant and go to Texas with this young girlfriend and new baby and enjoy his money. I always liked San Antonio myself.

TA.b - Tesla Talk 5.20a - updated

I've been a huge Tesla fan since the brand's first vehicle, the Roadster, hit the market. Because I didn't have the cash to own one, the Roadster was unattainable for me (and I'm over 6 feet tall and have a bad back, so). But today. Tesla's vehicles are more attainable and a better fit for most folks. I've pushed electric vehicles into my friends' minds since Tesla showed what was possible (much to the chagrin of traditional automakers). In fact, an acquaintance rented a Model S and came away totally converted. I mean after all, a battery-electric vehicle showcases a different type of propulsion and that's the main difference (well that and fewer pollutants and...). The fact that most Tesla vehicles are fast, good-looking, handle well, and have a software suite that is years ahead of its competitors should be enough. If it weren't for today's political climate, it probably would be. Imagine that, a car winning sales on its merits. But Big Oil doesn't want to lose sales so the smear began.  Then it was "red-staters" accusing "blue-staters" of pushing their climate-change agenda. No actually, it was people who like breathing clean air that got on board. (I live in the LA area and our air is much cleaner since the anti-smog regulations were put in place.)  

So now we're in 2020 with the world facing a pandemic that is killing thousands, possibly millions. Since we don't have a cure or a vaccine, social-distancing was put in place to minimize the spread of the disease and save lives. It's worked. Two months into this mess though and people are clamoring for the restrictions to be lifted. Not a good idea at this time. Some politicians and news outlets, claim this situation is overblown even though the statistics say otherwise. We expect things to improve with the summer heat, but with the return to cooler weather, the virus could be back with a vengeance. The problem is that in reality, we just don't know. So the question becomes, "Are you willing to risk your life or the life of someone you love when we're years away (if ever) from getting back to a semblance of normal?"

This is where Tesla-founder Elon Musk comes in. 

I understand that companies face financial ruin with the COVID-19 restrictions in place, but are these companies more valuable or important then people's lives? Some say yes (usually the ones with the most money to lose/gain who don't care about you). A lot of folks just want this all to go away (it isn't). Some state governments, including California, have a movement towards "re-opening." But not fast enough for Musk. 

He announced the re-opening of his factories with out getting any kind of approval. I'm sure the government would have worked with him and discussed possible changes that would preserve Tesla worker's health. But Musk acted like a petulant child when told "not yet." Immediately he stated that his headquarters would be moved out of California to Texas or Nevada - which would have zero effect on the reopening of the Fremont factory. Then he filed a lawsuit (that would take years to be adjudicated). trying to get his way.  And now he is ordering his employees to defy government orders and return to work. This could put them into potential harm and possible arrest.

As much as I like(d) Tesla, people are important. Laws are important. The government is important in fighting this pandemic. People are your customers and employees after all. If they die, you end up with fewer sales and trained workers. Not brain-surgery. Musk's total disregard for the safety of his workers makes him sound more like 45 than someone to look up to. If the company is that close to being in trouble get some money from the government. They gave the oil industry a reported $75 million bail out. Or you could give back some (or all) of the reported $750 million the company paid you in back- and current-salary. Lots of options that don't include killing folks needlessly or starting a political stand off with the State of California or the local county. (Which 45 would love btw even though he dislikes Tesla and Musk or at least he did.) Is this about money or being told what to do? Does Musk know who his current customers are (who wouldn't appreciate this)? Does he care?

I once had a fantasy where I owned a house covered with Tesla solar panels feeding electricity to several Tesla Powerwalls and charging my Tesla vehicle (for almost zero cost). Take that smog. But not anymore. I'm no longer on Team Tesla. When Rick Perry and 45 got Toyota to move to Texas (Ivanka was at the official signing), i wrote them off. No more Toyotas for me. And so it goes. 

When I can put my fantasy in place, there will be a lot more choices. There are a lot of solar panel choices now and the energy storage business is booming. Ford's Mustang Mach-E looks to be a strong competitor and Volkswagen's iD models also look strong (although we won't get the Golf-sized iD.3 in the US. Big mistake). I agree that Tesla seems to be at a crossroad. Care about your workers and put a muzzle on Musk if you want to succeed and see what was once a bright future. I honestly hope that I'm wrong about this one.