2/ "Musk is highly vulnerable to fluctuations in Tesla’s share price. If Tesla declines as a company, Musk’s money weapon becomes corroded. And between the years-long overvaluation and the decimation of vehicle sales, Tesla stock has a giant “kick me” sign on it."

"Will you get some hardcore MAGA types who decide they want to buy a Tesla just to stick it to the libs? Maybe. Except that a lot of those people drive Ford Raptors and wouldn’t be caught dead in a midsize electric car"

3/ "But for normie consumers, if driving a Tesla becomes the cultural equivalent of putting a Confederate flag—or an AfD, bumper sticker—on their car, that’s going to be a problem. Who needs the headache of explaining that, actually, you bought the Tesla not because you think Germans need to stop worrying about their . . . history . . . but because you, uh, like the build quality?⁴

Look at the sales data from December and January. It’s happening already."

4/ "You want more proof? As Mr. Regular says, depreciation reveals all. If you want to know what the market really thinks about a product, look at the depreciation charts. Tesla is dead forking last.

All of which is why it’s important to keep up public pressure on Musk; to go on offense.

He’s not invincible."

5/ "And more importantly, he can’t help himself. You don’t need to make things up about Musk. All you have to do is let him show people who he is, and then underline it, bold it, and put it on loop.

Helping Tesla, the company, reap the economic consequences of Elon Musk, the political actor, is the first step toward dismantling our new oligarchy."

6/ "In 2024, Toyota sold 10.8 million vehicles and Tesla sold 1.7 million vehicles. Yay, capitalism.

How are you supposed to tow your boat with a Model Y?

Especially since, on the merits, Tesla isn’t the class leader anymore. If you want a midsize sedan, the Ioniq 6 is better than the Model Y. (So is the Polestar.) If you want a pickup, the Rivian R1T is vastly superior to the Cybertruck. If you want a crossover, the Mustang Mach-E kicks ass."

7/ "Tesla maintains a small lead in battery technology, but in terms of price, design, reliability, comforts, and build quality, it’s a middle-of-the-pack brand. (At best.)

That’s Tesla ranked as a “luxury” brand. If you ranked Tesla with normal consumer brands? Also dead forking last. Behind Chrysler.

The next step will come if Democrats ever retake the White House—because at some point SpaceX should be nationalized. But that’s a subject for another time."

We've got just as many BYDs, Nissans, and other European EVs on the road as we have Teslas...and they mostly look like 2023, or earlier, models. A lot of the Uber drivers have Teslas, because Uber did a deal. Plus, #swasticars are still too expensive.