Following up on my popular (or infamous) thread ("Guilt" for being able to get a Model S?!!), here's another teaser! Just got back from watching the new "Lorax" and observing my 5.5-year-old son and his schoolmate get swept up by the complex messages of consumerism vs environmentalism in there! So... as many of us eagerly wait to get our hands on a Model S or an X, - Could we be lusting after yet another "thneed" - as Dr. Seuss called them - that's not very different from many traditional high end cars in that we simply 'want' them rather than really 'need' them?! - Or, are the Model S and X going to be the "truffula trees" that'll (literally) bring back fresh, smog-free air?! - Or, are Tesla cars a bit of both? Consumerism with a noble purpose in mind?! Fire away
I'd vote both. It has a responsible side, but some (including me) are more concerned with the gadgets and performance
I bought my Roadster because it's fun to drive. But it slowly worked its magic on me and now I power my house with solar, and with the Model X, I'll no longer have an ICE in my garage. Both.
The Coda is a truffula tree, but with a fruit that most Americans find inedible. Tesla's offerings are similar to truffula trees but have thneed-flavored fruits.
I believe they are both as one Roadster owner has on his car faster than a Ferrari - Greener than a Prius. Seriously I think humanity has large challenges in the next 25 years with the 1) Cost of oil (last year we imported a record $440billion worth of it) 2) Availability of oil - the good Lord is not making more of it. 3) Environmental (with oil shale and tar sands we have a disaster in the making) I really cannot see humanity giving up transportation so we need to find a better, more sustainable way to provide it.
It's a noble purpose with consumerism in mind. I wanted a pure electric car, but I didn't want the auto equivalent of bran with everything, beards, tie-dye shirts and wearing socks with sandals. (Hmm, wonder how many people I managed to alienate there? Sorry...)
I'm the mirror-image of Bonnie. I bought my Roadster because I've believed for decades that electric cars were the right thing for the environment... and the Roadster was the first EV I found that was worth buying that wasn't too complicated to buy (I never found my way through the process in place to buy the RAV4 EV) that I fit in (I considered an EV1 even though you coudn't buy them... but I am too tall in the morning). Since buying the Roadster I've discovered it is a joy to drive (and I've gone from finding every possible excuse to get someone else to give me a ride to looking for opportunities to drive the Roadster). I think this pair of examples is proof that the Roadster is both.
Perfect take on this... Thneed flavored fruits are so alluring! At at the end does the super-axe-hacker take us all.