callmesam
Member
Just to throw my two cents in, this defeat is hardly a disaster for Tesla, just like the legislation in North Carolina isn't.
People underestimate the power of American mythology in the Tesla story. It's been a myth in America for decades now that "the car companies" and the "oil companies" have been conspiring to destroy promising new companies and technologies. In every part of the country, the legend of the lone inventor building a new kind of car that can run on water or potatoes (or whatever) is practically universal. Fundamentally, its an outlaw genius who is being suppressed by the government or Big Oil, or Detroit, and usually all three.
In Texas and much of the South a related mythology often is expressed with tales about outlaw Moonshiners defying the authorities and outracing the cops in their Moonshine powered home built hot rods. Make no mistake, the Moonshine powered hot rods are a key part of the story. A crafty outlaw driving a better car, powered by something better than oil, being oppressed by "The Man."
I could go on and on about the American ideal of fairness, or the tendency to root for an underdog, and even more ancient strands of outlaw mythology. Preston Tucker is a hero for a reason. John Delorean isn't any kind of hero (although there were plenty of popular conspiracy theories explaining his fall), but there is a reason that Hollywood slapped a fusion generator into a Delorean and ended up with a megahit movie.
So from my point of view, these types of obviously unfair moves by many of the states are probably some of the most effective advertising for Tesla in the history of advertising. North Carolina is not a critical market for Tesla. Under current law Tesla is doing ok in Texas regardless. The only practical effect of these moves is to help Tesla build up an enormous level of street cred with the American people as Tesla becomes a living avatar of outlaw genius legends.
Agree 100%. Tesla is getting so much extra word-of-mouth advertising. I was worried about the NYTimes too, but eventually thought that any press is good press when you don't have much brand recognition and only 20,000 reservations.
By the time Margaret Sullivan was helping bandage knees and kiss boo-boos, Tesla was the "outlaw hero" vanquishing big media.