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Something Worth Thinking About

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You've all heard the line, "Nice car. What is it?"

"It's a Tesla."

"Who makes that?"

"Tesla Motors. It's a car company in California."

Utter befuddlement.


When one reads the comments below online articles, many of those taking the anti-EV stance don't seem to realize or appreciate that Tesla is an American company—an American company that is quickly becoming the envy of the world. When was the last time we could say that about an American company? Well, maybe Apple.

I've never been a big fan of wrapping commercial enterprise in the American flag. (American defense contractors ruined that for me.) Apple has avoided it, perhaps because their products are largely made overseas. But Tesla is a genuine American creation for the 21st Century. We Americans haven't had such an amazing thing to crow about since the Apollo space program. Should we be patriotic about Tesla? Or is that just too 20th Century?

I welcome your comments.


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Completely agree with the sentiment. As a naturalized American, I'm just as proud. Sad to see some of the bashing that Tesla takes right here at home.

The company's employees themselves are a typical, truly international workforce - just look at the folks in the youtube video of Steve Jurvetson driving out his Founder #1 car - led by a South African emigrant who have all flourished in this land of opportunity.
 
stop right there please.
We can learn from the Apple marketing department, Im sure they did their homework on the worldwide perception of "Designed in USA" vs "Designed in California"

Sad truth is that USA is the most hated country in the world.
So putting the USA label on it with some stripes would be counterproductive.
California on the other hand is perceived almost like an own nation. People connect, Hollywood and Silicon Valley if they hear California.
With USA people connect the Wars, Warcrimes, Guantanamo camps, Imperialistic foreign strategies, NSA scandal, the biggest military in the world, etc. etc.

The safe option:

Is person American?
- No: "It's made by a company in California."
- Yes:
- Is person a Republican?:
- Yes: "It's made by an American car company in America."
- No: "It's made by an Californian car company in California."

:D
 
Indeed, I believe Apple's reluctance to use "Made in USA" is quite simply because their products are mostly made elsewhere (the above example being a rare exception). I don't think it has anything to do with America's image overseas. But this does beg the question: does the nationality of a product really matter. Tesla, like Apple, is on its way to becoming a world company. What about "Made on Earth?"
 
I can understand wanting to take a wider world view and consider patriotism as outdated and 20th century. But I can't help it. As an "American", I know there is a lot that is arguably not right with the USA, but I can see the potential in the ideals many of us share and many of the things people in this country have accomplished. I want to be proud of the great things the country has allowed and even encouraged to flourish. This includes Tesla. First and foremost, I am proud of Tesla for their mission and what they have accomplished so far. But I am also proud that Tesla felt the USA provided the best environment for their success.

One day, I hope the entire world will be more mature (including the USA) and that everyone will reach a standard of living at or above that which we have in the USA today. I can't guarantee I will always be proud of my country and feel patriotic about it. But as long as our hearts are in the right place and we continue to strive to be better and to make the world a better place and provide an environment where advancements can flourish, then I think humanity has a chance and that is something to be proud of. We aren't the only ones who can be proud of this. And we can be proud of more than just ourselves. One day, I hope to be proud of all of humanity. That day isn't here yet. But I do believe that the environment the USA provides will help get us there, and so long as I believe that to remain true, I'll wave the flag to that.

The trouble with patriotism is that we must remember that it is important to look beyond ourselves with a sense of honor, integrity, compassion, and empathy. You can be proud of winning a medal in a competition. You can be more proud of putting in the training and effort that led up to that. But you can be most proud of competing in a way that allowed and enabled everyone to reach their maximum potential. You don't need to win your own medal for that. This is the way in which some feel the USA is a failure. Are we just looking out for ourselves, or are we also trying to nurture an environment that will help everyone to be better? I still believe it is the latter more than the former. For it is that, if we believe it to be true, that we can be most proud of. We must drop the arrogance, not declare ourselves #1, and understand that some of our actions, regardless of our intentions, have at times hurt people. We must acknowledge failures so that we may learn and grow from them. We must ensure that pride comes not from leading ourselves to greatness, but from an effort to lead everyone to greatness.
 
Well said, Scotty. However, when I started this post I was thinking more about the effect on Americans than on people elsewhere. Not as a source of arrogance, but as an acknowledgement of what Americans can do when they put their hearts and minds to it. I think many people have lost sight of that potential. We've been treading water in a sea of pessimism. America is a lot of things, good and bad, but Tesla seems clearly an example of America at its best.



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Just moved about half the posts to Politics - Quarantine Thread due to being (a) off topic, (b) getting snippy, and (c) politics.

(Been out of town for a few days... sorry for not snipping sooner.)

Doug, I thought this thread was fairly constructive (excepting posts 6 thru 8). The question of Tesla acknowledging its American roots seems valid enough. My friend Stephen Kiernan wrote a book titled Authentic Patriotism that reframes the word patriotism by connecting it to little-known individuals who've made a difference in America. The management at Tesla Motors could fit into that category.
 
I don't have a problem with the topic of this thread. If people remain respectful and contribute in a positive way then it's all good.

When threads go into the soup it gets very hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, so some babies go out with the bath water. My approach lately has been to let things play out until it tips over the edge, then slam the door hard. I've noticed that people have started to self-moderate due to his policy. Hopefully we'll reach a point where we can have a relevant political discussion without descending into name-calling.
 
I think you'll find that "made in the USA" works great, inside the USA. In the rest of the world, not so much. Many companies wave the flag pretty hard in the US, but know enough not to do so when they go abroad (or quite often, try to wave the local flag instead, see for example the many many retailers who tack "Canada" on to the end of their names when they expand north of the border and put up a big Canadian flag outside their stores. It's a culture thing though, no other country on the planet is as obsessed with these things as the US is. Flag waving, even the "right" flag, actually pushes customers away in much of the world, people find it tacky, in fact I can instantly tell a foreign company by their use of the Canadian flag and/or the word "Canada" in their name. Canadian companies just don't do that the same way. Americans are well known for their obsession with their own flag, it doesn't really endear Americans to anyone outside their border though.

On a personal note, and quite honestly, I find "made in the USA" is the biggest drawback I see to buying a Tesla. I'd quite literally choose a similar vehicle from ANY other country in preference to one made in the USA. That said, there is no other similar vehicle anywhere in the world, so I'll take the Tesla because, as with all my purchases, I put the item itself ahead of where it comes from.
 
Moved some posts to snippiness due to insulting certain countries and ad hominem attacks. Nice change of pace from banishing to the Political Quarantine.

If your post got moved across despite having polite content, it's because you quoted the snippiness.

Seriously guys, please tone it down.