Something Worth Thinking About

[green1]

Seriously guys, please tone it down.

Sorry, my intent was not to insult anyone, only to point out that Tesla is smart not to spend their energy pushing the "All American" branding. It may work well inside the USA, but Tesla has plans to revolutionize the auto market worldwide, not just in the USA, flag waving would be quite couterproductive to their overall goal (they expect more sales from outside the USA then from within)

 

[Doug_G]

You weren't a major offender. I swept the entire conversation out.

 

[Mnlevin]

Moved some posts to snippiness due to insulting certain countries and ad hominem attacks. Nice change of pace from banishing to the Political Quarantine.

If your post got moved across despite having polite content, it's because you quoted the snippiness.

Seriously guys, please tone it down.

Seriously... You would move our posts and leave Green's anti American post. If you really want to curb discussion and freedom of expression, but leave the most antagonistic post maybe you shouldnt be the censor. His post above is outrageous and offensive.

 

[JohnQ]

Seriously... You would move our posts and leave Green's anti American post. If you really want to curb discussion and freedom of expression, but leave the most antagonistic post maybe you shouldnt be the censor. His post above is outrageous and offensive.

At risk of inflaming the conversation, I don't find @green1's post to be offensive at all. American culture is certainly different from others. While it is too broad a brush to say only the US has a flag waving tendency ... Russia is an obvious example among others ... it's also true that other cultures find it to be in poor taste to be overly nationalistic. Don't know why it's an issue if he prefers not buy an American product ... many on this board have expressed a desire to not buy a product from country X.

 

[basvk]

View attachment 47273

Love this plate and love the pride you guys/gals have in Tesla! It's all about execution, and that's something American companies are really good at (IMHO as a European).

(btw I read the posts that were moved to snippiness, this post is not meant as a reply to those, but only to the one quoted above).

 

[Doug_G]

Well that's the problem when this happens - you have to draw the line somewhere, and not everyone will agree with your decisions. Is anyone else offended by that post, or just Mnlevin?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Seriously... You would move our posts and leave Green's anti American post. If you really want to curb discussion and freedom of expression, but leave the most antagonistic post maybe you shouldnt be the censor. His post above is outrageous and offensive.

As an ex-pat Briton I don't think Green's post was anti-American, it was a observation on the difference in culture. I very much agree with it. In the UK, at least among my peers, American nationalism is considered very brash and particularly with the sentiment post 9/11 and with the 2nd Iraq there was a very noticeable shift in Budweiser advertising, introducing a rather self-deprecating tone. The Oatmeal had a very funny take on US/UK perception when they hear an accent.

Burning the American flag can be seen as a significant political statement, burning a Union Flag is just considered a Health and Safety risk.

(Scotland is different to England, Scottishness or at least non-Englishness is important in business).

 

[apvbguy]

Rule Britannia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YY

J/S

 

[ToddRLockwood]

Sorry, my intent was not to insult anyone, only to point out that Tesla is smart not to spend their energy pushing the "All American" branding. It may work well inside the USA, but Tesla has plans to revolutionize the auto market worldwide, not just in the USA, flag waving would be quite couterproductive to their overall goal (they expect more sales from outside the USA then from within)

My primary intent with this thread is to suggest that perhaps Tesla could do more to let average Americans know that this extraordinary product is an American creation, a fact that's still largely lost on the American public. As for the rest of the world, I agree that flag-waving doesn't win friends—except perhaps the Canadian flag on certain beer brands. :wink: On the other hand, this could be an opportunity to re-frame the American flag across the world as a symbol of innovation. The Model S couldn't have come from anywhere but silicon valley. Tesla embodies the intersection of software, design and manufacturing.

 

[tonybelding]

I'm going to step aside from the political aspects of this, and look at what "Made in USA" means as an indication of product quality.

When it comes to electronics, Asia is it. The electronics industry and supply chain has become so concentrated in Asia that it's hard to even build electronics anywhere else. You can assemble a Mac Pro in Texas or a Raspberry Pi in England (in a Sony plant!), but most of the parts will still have to come from somewhere in Asia.

For mechanical things, though... For mass-produced items that require mechanical smoothness and nice fit-and-finish, I think the top signs of quality are still "Made in USA" and "Made in Japan". The Japanese are almost fanatically proud of their manufacturing consistency and quality control. As for the USA, all the manufacturers whose first concern was cutting costs and cutting corners have already gone overseas back in the 1990s, and those who stayed here are the very best.

I got the impression that British and European products are generally quite good, but their QC can be spotty. As for China... The quality standards of Chinese products is all over the map, from abysmal to excellent, just like it was in the USA back in the Good Old Days when most stuff was made here.

 

[JohnQ]

I'm going to step aside from the political aspects of this, and look at what "Made in USA" means as an indication of product quality.

When it comes to electronics, Asia is it. The electronics industry and supply chain has become so concentrated in Asia that it's hard to even build electronics anywhere else. You can assemble a Mac Pro in Texas or a Raspberry Pi in England (in a Sony plant!), but most of the parts will still have to come from somewhere in Asia.

For mechanical things, though... For mass-produced items that require mechanical smoothness and nice fit-and-finish, I think the top signs of quality are still "Made in USA" and "Made in Japan". The Japanese are almost fanatically proud of their manufacturing consistency and quality control. As for the USA, all the manufacturers whose first concern was cutting costs and cutting corners have already gone overseas back in the 1990s, and those who stayed here are the very best.

I got the impression that British and European products are generally quite good, but their QC can be spotty. As for China... The quality standards of Chinese products is all over the map, from abysmal to excellent, just like it was in the USA back in the Good Old Days when most stuff was made here.

Don't ignore Germany. Some of the highest skilled labor for manufacturing high tolerance machinery ... and not talking automobiles here.

 

[deonb]

I think part of Apple's decision to go with "Made in California" over "Made in USA" is because "Made in USA" is a FTC regulated standard. (Same with 'Designed in USA', 'Created in USA' etc.)

I was looking into putting a "Made in USA" label on a product I created once, but if you sell any electronic product you basically can't use it.

There are no manufacturers for most semiconductor components in the US - so you have no choice but to import that. Even if you assemble everything yourself, you'll run afoul of the "Made in USA" restrictions, which means you can be sued for deceptive marketing practices.

You can do something like: "Designed and Assembled in USA, with components from Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Malaysia", but then you lose any possible marketing advantage you would have.

So gets born: "Made in California".