Throwing it down publicly to Chris Christie - now that is confidence!
The "bridge closure to sell you" zinger made me smile.
Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
21–30 of 410 posts
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#22I'm not opposed to what Musk is trying to do but how or why are auto dealers a monopoly? Those direct sales laws were originally created to preserve small business.
Most dealerships would not count as "small" businesses. They are at the very least "medium enterprise" and at the most Fortune 500 companies[1].
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#23> An even bigger conflict of interest with auto dealers is that they make most of their profit from service, but electric cars require much less service than gasoline cars. There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car. Also, all Tesla Model S vehicles are capable of over-the-air updates to upgrade the software, just like your phone or computer, so no v…
It is a terrific salespitch, especially in how it raises the subject of OTA updates while adroitly waltzing you past the obvious worry that a poorly tested OTA update will brick your car.
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#24His best line:
> The rationale given for the regulation change that requires auto companies to sell through dealers is that it ensures 'consumer protection'. If you believe this, Gov. Christie has a bridge closure he wants to sell you! Unless they are referring to the mafia version of 'protection', this is obviously untrue.
Nicely done, Elon. Nicely done.
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#25That's some good writing by Elon, by the way.
Perhaps it went through an editor or two, for typos and such, but I have to say I find his style engaging...
(Disclaimer: If I had the money I'd buy a tesla, and I am an investor.)
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#26It blows my mind that in a country that preaches a free-market economy, the government is preventing a company from selling a superior product. I'm pretty sure people will still buy the car if they want to, and in time, those car companies will go under anyway, but why slow down progress?
There's a big difference between "preaching a free-market economy" and "preaching a free-market economy except in cases where I think there shouldn't be a free-market economy." The latter is the norm in the United States and every other country in the world that I know of.
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#27It blows my mind that in a country that preaches a free-market economy, the government is preventing a company from selling a superior product. I'm pretty sure people will still buy the car if they want to, and in time, those car companies will go under anyway, but why slow down progress?
It doesn't blow your mind, it happens the whole time. Car imports are a similar example.
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#28It blows my mind that in a country that preaches a free-market economy, the government is preventing a company from selling a superior product. I'm pretty sure people will still buy the car if they want to, and in time, those car companies will go under anyway, but why slow down progress?
"If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door, unless its run by mice." --me
I think it would be better to say "unless it's run by the current mousetrap manufacturers."
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#29Musk is massively disingenuous and rather insulting to our intelligence. But he's a heck of a salesman and makes a wonderful car. Like many persuasive people he arrives at an answer and backs into rationale but makes it appear the other way around.
I'll give you just one example. The law of the land in NJ is that you can't sell in NJ unless through a dealership. That's the current law. Those laws need to change to allow a direct to consumer sale. Map that to this quote "ended your right to purchase vehicles at a manufacturer store within the state." Brilliant. "You lost something you had" is so much more powerful than "We need to persuade the legislator to make a change to add something new"
Seriously, I dig his cars. And his vision. And I suspect that to attack such large entrenched markets you have to have this kind of maniacal drive. I just hate being misled and manipulated - no matter who the person.
Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey
#30Very saddened by the blatant corruption in our government. Where do I vote for a new government based on ethics and accountability (apart from New Zealand).
Government does not respond to a passive arrangement where you "vote for ethics" every so often. You have to participate more actively. This involves work.
Lets keep the discussion positive. Understand I'm not a political science major or a fancy debater, I don't claim to poses more than average intellegence, I'm just asking a question, hoping someone with more knowledge on the matter has an answer. After working to provide for the family I don't have a lot of free time to commit to politics if that's what you mean by 'participate more actively', is that the only course of action?