March 30, 2016. I arrived to the Tesla showroom/service facility at 7am to a line of about 30 people already camped out. A local Tesla fan club was handing out donuts and coffee. Tesla store employees were handing out whatever swag they had in stock; I got a nice pen.
Then, the line grew… and grew. Hundreds of fans wrapped around the building as we all eagerly awaited plunking down $1000 sight-unseen for a car. It seemed insane, but I wanted nothing else. It was a jovial, exciting party, and we were all there for the same reason. Then, the doors opened and it was electric (heh).
The order system couldn’t keep up, as every customer rapidly put in their reservation as quickly as possible to allow the next person to get theirs. I excitedly rushed home and bought as much TSLA stock as I could afford.
The next night was just as exciting, as I saw the grand reveal. The car was different, but beautiful. It was exactly what I wanted. Other people felt the same.
Then came the excruciating wait, as the company struggled to start production and avoid bankruptcy. People on the subreddit coordinated volunteer opportunities to assist Tesla in any way possible. We were all in this together.
Once deliveries started, it was again like Christmas morning. I got a call from a weary rep that my new baby was ready to deliver. One more painful week, and I was driving my amazing new whip away from the center, cheering to myself. I was hot shit as I turned heads around town in my low-VIN Magic Future Machine. Despite some early part replacements under warranty, it’s been a great car.
Which brings us to today. I’m now embarrassed to pull it out of my garage, despite the fact that lots of Teslas are tooting around town. I roll my eyes at the couple Cybertrucks I see. I want to put one of those “bought this before…” stickers on the bumper, but that seems kind of corny to me. My friends mock my Swasticar. I want to get rid of it, but I have no car payment and can’t be dropping the cash on something else. Even a used Polestar 2 would be $10,000 out of pocket. I’m sure there will be a rush on other EVs anyway.
I’m left with a perfectly good car that tells everybody that I’m an evil racist who supports the destruction of the better world I hoped to hasten with my original purchase. I don’t know what to do. What do owners like me (I assume there are many) suggest? Do we just live with our mistake?
It’s not a lifestyle declaration, it’s a car. I know people online make it sound like everyone is frothing at Tesla drivers, but ultimately: you bought a thing to get you around town.
Slap an Anti-Elon Tesla Club bumper sticker on it if you want. Do what I’ve been doing since Elon called that one guy a pedophile: remind people who comment that you’re not responsible for a billionaire’s antics. You just wanted an electric car.
That’s the thing though, it was. It said “I believe in the future, and I’m putting my money and transportation where my mouth is.” I was an early adopter because I wanted people to see that an electric future was not only possible, but exciting and inevitable.
Even after that “pedo” incident, I was a “separate the art from the artist” kind of person. But this isn’t just a bridge too far, it’s off the cliff and into a river of lava.