When I teach our popular 3-day hands-on Tesla class, we start with separating Elon, the man, from Tesla, the EV company. This avoids the conversation that will not help a technician fix the car. We are here to train professional technicians in the art of EV repair.
This blog allows me to express my own views, so here we go. I am a member of” LinkedIn” and have over 3,000 contacts. Even this business web site has had its share of political mud-slinging. What a shame, as it really is just a waste of time.
If you are making your political views known on any social media, remember that “all politics is local”. This phrase dates back to 1932. Tip O’Neill, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts is associated with this phrase, although he did not originate it.
Whatever your views are, does it make sense for you or a CEO of any major car maker to get into a public political divisive debate? Can you imagine the Ford family making their political views well know. Many now want Elon Musk to give up CEO position.
Telsa, the company. made EVs sexy, fun, and fast. They are just a car, with their share of problems and designs that make you wonder if the engineers ever fixed a car before. Our 2020 Model 3 with 80,000 miles has seen a lot of recalls and needed a new HV battery pack at 70K. The Boston Globe newspaper did a feature on ACDC three years ago and the stand out quote was “Craig likes his Kia Niro EV more than his Tesla”. Still true today.
My father, Raymond, fought in World-War Two. He told me, when I was a kid growing up in Ogden, Utah, that the two major discussions to have to keep this great country, and on the right path, was politics and religion. Engaging with your family, friends, and neighbors about these two topics will make change happen. Get to know each other again. Lay off the social media and spend more time with your family. If you respect everyone, that would be a good start.