I think other CEO's and leaders have figured out it's a lot easier to move product and get rich by not being polarizing, so it is odd that Elon lets it all hang out. On the other hand, he gets to have an opinion on the world and it's a shame that a person that holds different views is discounted as a fascist, racist, intolerant and/or incapable of doing or building great things.
I don’t think CEOs *have* to be polarizing just because they state their political opinions. I have never been a fan of “cancel culture” or anything close to it.
However, Elon isn’t stating his political opinions. He is explicitly divisive, often on purpose, because it gets him eyeballs. He’s not alone in doing this, but he definitely does it.
If he were just stating political opinions, and not constantly posting conspiracy theories, people would have fewer issues. But he does not think; he tweets.
Maybe if one where to have the chance to have a beer with Elon or Trump, it's entirely plausible the tweets and sound bites are not representative of the real person.
That’s probably true, especially for Trump, who changes his views to suit the person across the table because his biggest fear is being disliked.
But it doesn’t matter, because the tweets and sound bites *do* matter, and they choose to release them. Nobody controls Elon’s account but Elon.
And Elon is the one who retweets nonsense, and then shows up in the replies (which comparatively nobody reads) and says “oops.” But the damage is already done by that point:
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/26...-buttigieg-nevi-funding-ev-chargers-explainer
The same is true for a person one does hold in high regard, it might just be a facade? I didn't buy a Lucid because I agree with Mr. Rawlinson politically (I have no idea if I do or do not and frankly I don't care). I agree that the Tesla brand projects a lot to others on the road, but not all of it is because of Elon and his views, rather its the "face" of EV's of some folks simply dislike EV's (and there isn't anything wrong that in world where we profess tolerance).
Not all of it is. But some of it is.
Most of it is simply that Tesla has no leadership, and as a result is no longer doing anything interesting to me.
I also didn’t buy a lucid because of Peter’s political opinions. I don’t know what they are, nor do I particularly care. Even if he told me what they are, I’d be unlikely to care, because he doesn’t try to shove them down my throat at any given moment.
He built a great car. That’s why I bought a lucid. It’s a great car.
If Tesla made a worthy car (and the CT isn’t it), I’d consider one, even with Elon. But they’re not doing that either.
Despite what the socials have tried to delude us into thinking, the real world is where 99% of people with wildly different views and backgrounds all peacefully coexist and care about the well-being of others.
I completely agree with you; I am, as mentioned before, an “accidental moderate,” and can find common ground with nearly anyone. Politics and philosophy are two of my favorite topics to discuss.
The only way I disagree with you is it isn’t “the socials” deluding us, although that is a valid point. Again: nobody tells Elon what to tweet. Who is deluding us? Reading Elon’s feed is a look inside Elon’s brain, because again: he doesn’t stop to think, he just tweets roughly every thought. I don’t need anyone to tell me how he feels about things or if he reposts idiotic things; I can just read his Twitter.
He’s not always wrong. But he’s wrong more than he’s right, and that takes away from when he *is* right.
If he stuck to building rockets, I’d have far less issue with him, or if he were still building great cars.
But that’s just my opinion.
