The net margin on a Tesla is only a few percent, and of that Musk only receives 12% (only owns 12% of Tesla stock).
A guy who is worth hundreds of billions, and is willing to give Wikimedia a billion dollars to change their name to dickipedia, doesn’t care whether he makes an extra hundred from you or not.
The same logic applies to voting in elections. One could argue that a single vote rarely changes the outcome, so why bother participating?
Yet I believe that when enough individuals make the same choice—whether at the ballot box or with their wallets—it creates meaningful impact. Collective consumer decisions send powerful signals to companies and their leadership, just as collective voting shapes our democracy.
I think that was true at some point in his life, but these days he regularly and deliberately torches billions of dollars just to make a point on principle.
Which car you buy makes a significant difference to your life, but virtually zero difference to shareholders of the automaker, so buy whatever car you want instead of spiting yourself.
Which car you buy makes a significant difference to your life, but virtually zero difference to shareholders of the automaker
while this is true for a single person, of course the opposite is true if there is a significant movement (like the one that appears we are experiencing) if significant number of people stay away from a certain car brand.
also, on the personal note - I am a Tesla owner and have planned on replacing my 11-year Tesla S with a new Model Y, my wife said “over my dead body” :) hence, even on personal side the car buying can be a moral issue - not necessarily thinking “CEO will soon be homeless due to my purchase of lucid vs model y” but "I won't contribute a single penny to perhaps one of the most vile human beings that currently walks on Earth
A guy who is worth hundreds of billions, and is willing to give Wikimedia a billion dollars to change their name to dickipedia, doesn’t care whether he makes an extra hundred from you or not.
Just buy the car you like.