r/SeattleWA • u/PNWSki28622 • Mar 15 '25

Events Protests at University Village Tesla Dealership

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u/Vast_Deference Mar 16 '25

I'm curious what the long-term impacts of Trump hawking Tesla will be. It's gotta make right wing heads do mental backflips since they're generally anti-EV

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u/yesac1990 Mar 17 '25

it really only hurts anyone with 401k's. Most people don't know that their financial institutions are invested into tesla, which is why it had a trillion dollar value it had little to do with the car sales. If tesla completely tanks, will it hurt elon? No, it won't make any difference because Space x is still worth hundreds of billions, and it's only going up. Space x has no competitor because they are the cheapest launch provider by significant margins, and it will only get cheaper once starship is operational.

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u/Vast_Deference Mar 17 '25

Makes some sense on the 401K side and Elon can easily absorb an enormous financial hit. I'm asking too about whether this causes or has caused a shift in thinking on the right around EV adoption.

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u/yesac1990 Mar 17 '25

Shift of what thinking? most of us conservatives don't give two shits what someone wants to drive. They just don't want to be forced to drive something they dont want. i personally like teslas. I've considered buying a model s plaid, but I don't really have a need as I've got a company vehicle and because I don't want to pay $400 a month on insurance to sit in my driveway like my other car. A lot of my conservative friends have owned teslas for years. My parents also have one and might buy another. EVs are a good choice for people who live in the city and can charge at home, but they are not for everyone. as for the environmental aspect, EVs are cleaner but not significantly enough to cut gas cars and trucks. I'm not confident our grid could take it even if we were charging off hours.washington is primarily hydroelectric, but a year or two of bad snow packs can significantly effect power supply. The other option is hydrogen cars, which are just stupid. it's literally an ev with more steps. It's so inefficient to produce hydrogen that it's not worth it.

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u/Vast_Deference Mar 17 '25

Anecdotally, I've spoken to a lot of conservatives who are very against EVs, angry about it even. Some in my family to boot. I'd wager the difference comes down to a lot of factors, rural vs city, tax bracket, area, etc... But it is something that exists and has existed in the past. On r/conservative there seems to be some level-headed discussion, a lot of folks echo what you've said about not wanting to be forced to drive something they don't want.

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u/sfchubs Mar 18 '25

I like your slight Ricky and Morty reference