• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    They could definitely bounce back if the board fired him and the new head of the company made changes that actually made the cars better, rather than make the model numbers spell S3XY or have the horn make a fart noise for a premium or make and sell whatever the fuck the Powell Motors Homer Cybertruck is.

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      The problem is that Elons con man routine is the only reason Tesla is so overvalued. I’m sure they are afraid that if they let him go the stock price would readjust to a reasonable market price.

      No matter what you think of him, he is brilliant at conning a tech enthusiast’s money out of their wallets.

      • jmiller@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        Oh, it’s not the only reason, and the other may actually be worse. They sold $1.8 billion of carbon credits to other auto manufacturers last year. Which is pretty much free money to them. And hastens climate change, but, you know, free money.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        That just comes with the territory of being wealthy, which he lucked into thanks to Peter Thiel taking a liking to him (probably because he wanted to fuck him). People confused the companies he invested in which happened to be successful despite him, and would probably more successful if he weren’t involved- see SpaceX when Shotwell took over day-to-day operations.

        Lots of people, otherwise smart people, smell someone with money and say, “I want to go to there” because they think wealth can be transmitted through close contact.

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I call it the Biggest Asshole in the Room strategy. Capitalists can be extremely successful by simply being the biggest asshole in the room. Smarter, more talented, better comnected people will cater to the biggest asshole in the room simply because it makes life easier to appease them. See also: Trump, Jobs, Bezos, Gates, anybody on Shark Tank, Ortega, Murdoch, Koch Bros, etc., all masters of the strategy. It’s a personality type that aligns perfectly with the free market where inertia and friction generate profit from the work of creation, innovation, and productivity.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I only have one question about the Cyber truck. Why haven’t I ever seen a rusty DeLorean, especially considering I have seen DeLoreans that lived in KY, GA, MS, AL, and LA

      (Louisiana, not the city in California, not to be confused with Canada. Why TF do we reuse so many two-four letter abbreviations?)

      • wjrii@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        The general theory is that they used a cheaper grade of stainless, specifically one that is still magnetic because it makes material handling easier during manufacture, meaning higher iron content, meaning more prone to rust if you don’t pay extra for the clear vinyl wrap. People will say the “real” name of the material is “stain less” steel, which is not true – “stainless steel” is just 1910’s marketing wank – but it is accurate enough as a description.

        • ZapBeebz_@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          There’s a reason “Stainless Steel” is referred to as CRES (Corrosion Resistant Steel) more commonly in industry.

    • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Maybe. But they’re not the only game in town when it comes to electric cars anymore. There are real auto manufacturers with good reputations making them now.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I agree. I was just speaking in the abstract about Tesla in specific and how they could potentially save themselves.

        I doubt they will though.