Natural selection

This post is not about technology and more about stuff related to technology and little about politics.

After I bought my first Tesla I was sure that I would buy a second one very shortly. All I waited was for prices to go down and perhaps for new technology. So I was patiently waiting for around 2 years.

Initially, I was very excited about the new Model 3. Then I found that it didn’t have stacks. It was confusing. How to indicate when the steering wheel is turned. For example, on roundabouts. Why to change the direction of driving I have to take my eyes off the road? I didn’t see any reason and how this is convenient.

I even tried the old model 3 but it was too noisy inside and I canceled that idea. Then I figured out that the standard range battery for Model 3 is coming from China. It also demotivated me to buy Model 3 but I was still thinking about it.

But with time my opinion about Tesla’s CEO started to change. To the bad side. Initially, he like all normal people supported Ukraine and condemned russia.  But with time he starts to sound exactly the same as the person who is in charge of Russia now.

And the problem here is not only that I think that makes him an immoral person from my point of view. It is only part of the problem. The biggest problem is that it affects his businesses in a big way.

Let me explain what I mean. In nature, all animals are slightly different. They are put through survival and only the fittest will survive and thrive. Effectively nature does natural selection.

Businesses work exactly the same way. We, customers, judge businesses and award each of them with tokens of our appreciation – money. The fittest one – will survive and thrive. All other businesses will eventually collapse. That is why it is so important to pay attention to where you shop.

Now let’s go back to Tesla. The simple fact of choosing a side in that war means that there will be people who will hate that and it will affect business. Surely, some will like that and will buy more, but in general, they will buy less than people who decided to stop buying.

Most people in the United States and the developed world support Ukraine and this where is the biggest market for Tesla. So this decision by the CEO of Tesla to be on russia’s side affects sales of Tesla.

Then I found that he decided to bet the whole company on autonomy. I’m not sure what stops Tesla from doing all things at the same time. They can still develop regular vehicles and work on autonomy, robots, and god knows what. They have a lot of cash.

To me, it sounds like absolutely an unnecessary risk. Typically CEO can make such a move when they are desperate and they basically have no choice. They never do it when everything is super awesome. So again, betting on something nobody asked is a bit strange.

Then I found that Tesla canceled the 25K car project. Because they cannot make a car that cost 25K and is autonomous at the same time. I don’t need autonomy. I need a car that I can drive from and to work. If I see that autonomy will kick in I will buy an autonomous one. But I need something to drive for all these years until cars can drive themselves.

And for me, a 25K car is a perfect choice. For me, even the old Model 3 is too luxurious. I’m fine without leather seats. I’m fine with manual seat adjustments. And I need a sedan because an SUV is too much for me and just a waste of energy. I also don’t need a big battery because I live close to work.

Then CEO of Tesla endorsed Republicans and it further split his customer base. I don’t know who endorsed the CEO of GM or Ford. Most likely they didn’t endorse anyone because they were smart and cared about their businesses. And it is the way it is supposed to be. You are a politician or businessman but not both.

Next, when I buy a microwave I don’t care about the company who made it. If that company goes bankrupt and I cannot fix the broken one, I will just buy a second one. It is not a big deal. But a car is a completely different story.

I typically own a car for around 7-10 years. All that time I need service, parts, and general support. I want a community of people who like this car and share their experiences. But this only happens when they are happy with what they bought and about the company who made this car.

The car is typically quite expensive to just buy a new one at any random moment. And the financial health of the company affects the resale value of any car. I want it to be as high as possible and it is why I typically buy cars that hold their value quite well.

Moreover, let's think about how the situation is looking from the eyes of Tesla employees. There are a lot of very smart and very talented people. You can be hardworking and very useful to the company but you still can be fired. Not because of something you say or you do. Just because your boss has issues with the CEO and then the CEO decides that it is a smart idea to fire the whole department.

So an employee may think that it is quite a good idea to change a job because it is much better to search job when you have a job. Right now many companies are trying to catch up to Tesla and they are willing to pay well to gain experience.

And I would add that the same situation with moral principles and political views applies here. “Should I use my skills to make my COE richer and who supports the war in Ukraine?” – may ask an employee. As a result, some important people may leave and that will affect the company.

Let's summarize everything. Around 50% of people in the United States vote for Democrats. They don’t like the Republican candidate and everybody who supports him. Also, I would say around 80% of people in developed countries do not like russia and the war it started. Tesla’s CEO supports russia. As a result, these people also don’t like him.

I think the CEO of Tesla doing things that alienate existing and potential customers of Tesla and all the above will affect business in a bad way. It greatly reduces the number of potential customers and it also affects people who already bought Tesla. It took all joy from owning and supporting Tesla. They will also not recommend Tesla to anyone. And this sooner or later will affect Tesla in a quite bad way.

As a result, I decided that I don’t want to support that company and give the CEO of Tesla my money. It comes from a moral point of view and from a financial point of view because I want the company I bought a car from to be in business for a long time.

Lastly, I want to support a company that does the right thing and I don’t want to be ashamed that I own the product of that company. I even considering selling my existing Tesla if I will find a similar product somewhere else.

This is my point of view and hope it will help someone.