Paul Cantrell
The memo still hasn’t made it to everyone about the systemic function of the #TeslaTakedown protests. I still keep getting well-meaning quesitons like the one below from @tymwol.
The purpose is •not• just to register symbolic discontent. The purpose is •not• just to take individual action that directly harms Musk.
The purpose is to tank demand for Tesla’s product, and thus tank their stock price. This is Musk’s biggest vulnerability, Smaug’s exposed belly.
Paul Cantrell
I’ll work that reasoning out a bit:
- Musk’s power depends entirely on wealth. Not genius; he’s a nincompoop. Wealth.
- A large portion of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock. A •very• large portion.
- His wealth is further dependent on investors believing that he alone is uniquely capable of leading companies into being “unicorns,” i.e. companies with massive future growth potential. His cult of personality is why Tesla’s stock is so wildly overvalued.
- And yes, Tesla stock is overvalued wrt fundamentals, to an absurd degree. Even after losing ~40% of its value since its peak, it’s •still• overvalued. It has a lot of room to fall.
So, what do we do about that?
2/
Paul Cantrell
The proximate primary goal of #TeslaTakedown is to reduce demand for Tesla’s product. Lower demand → lower price → lower margins → lower profit. Anything that increases their financial liabilities is a bonus (e.g. overload of used vehicles from broken leases that they can’t sell), but reducing demand is the name of the game.
If Tesla becomes an unprofitable company, and a company that simply cannot become profitable as long as it has the Musk millstone around its neck, then (1) the stock tanks and (2) having Musk in charge becomes a liability.
3/
Paul Cantrell
How do we reduce demand?
- Make the Tesla brand SOCIALLY TOXIC: shameful, embarrassing, cringy, un-sexy, nauseating. Buying one should •feel bad•. Make people a little sick to their stomach when they come in for that test drive.
4/
Paul Cantrell
- Make the Tesla brand a PRACTICAL LIABILITY: maybe you don’t feel bad about buying one, but…people vandalize them, and so many people are getting rid of them that the resale value is going to be crap for a long time. Owning one is a headache, and you’re going to lose a lot of money on it.
(I get a lot of replies to the effect of “How does it hurt Musk to get rid of a car you already bought??” Get your systems thinking hat on! A supply glut in the used market both creates downward price pressure on new cars •and• changes people’s financial expectations when buying a new one.)
4/
Paul Cantrell
- Make the Tesla brand FRIGHTENING: They surveil you. They burn people alive on a regular basis. They’re extremely vulnerable to hacking, even more than other modern cars with OTA software updates. One of these days, some hacker is going to make every Tesla in the country drive through its garage door…or worse. Driving a Tesla puts you in danger.
(This isn’t just logical; it’s visceral. Bombard people with images of Teslas vandalized, smashed, on fire. Make it a Pavlovian reaction: Tesla = danger, chaos, destruction.)
5/
Molly B
@inthehands Did you see this? Similar points (and a rabbit hole or two). https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/elon-musk-apartheid-boycott-tesla-doge-trump/
Paul Cantrell
Quick checklist for #TeslaTakedown action:
- Does it make Teslas socially toxic?
- Does it make them a practical liability?
- Does it make them feel dangerous?
Do not underestimate the power of brand death over consumers and investors. The brand is already associated with fascism. Amplify that. Judo it. Take them town.
Search for a local event here: https://www.teslatakedown.com
/end
John Breen
@inthehands I just feel badly for Nikola.
Paul Cantrell
@jab01701mid
Same!!
Shannon Clark
@inthehands highlight again and again how risky Teslas are if you have kids. I know one big reason I will never buy one (even before the past few years) is how hard they are to exit if the power doors fail (due to loss of power - like in case of an accident).
I've looked up the process to open their doors in the case of power loss - it is hard for adults to do and remember when not in an emergency - it seems implausible for kids
Shannon Clark
@inthehands for example this is from 2023 on how to get out of a Tesla in case of power loss.
read this. Then imagine asking a kid to remember the steps (and in many of the Teslas it requires rear seat passengers to climb to the front seats first)
(not sure if there are - as is likely - any changes in 2024 or 2025 models)
Paul Cantrell
@vfrmedia @Rycaut
Yup. Pretty much vehicle designed for humans has an emergency latch like this; my simple little old Civic does. But Tesla….
Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK
@Rycaut @inthehands in contrast you can climb straight out of the boot of a 2015 Volkswagen Polo 6C (a popular European supermini) using a hidden catch that can be sprung open either with the key or any suitably sized object, this is deliberately intended as an emergency exit (and I've seen a video of a middle aged Indian chap of fairly large build successfully do this as a demonstration)
Paul Cantrell
@vlindervriendje @Rycaut
Yeah, I feel the same way about my little >20yo Civic. Working hard to shift to ebike + transit such that I can drive it into the ground and never replace it.
Miranda
This is why I love my 29 year old Toyota. You could fix it yourself, very relyable, not trackable by the manufacturer, nicely small and you can get out of it -even in panic- in an emergency. Also you can fix a broken headlight in about 10 seconds yourself and buy spareparts everywhere 😄 🚘
Paul Cantrell
@LiamEgan
I think •waiting• for people to wake up — same here — was a big mistake on our parts. It won’t happen on its own, not ever, no matter how bad the crisis. No waiting. We have to actively dislodge people from their denial.
Liam Egan
I have been waiting a long time for the US electorate to wake up and see that they are being lied to and abused by a group of politicians. It didn't happen in the midterms or even the last election and I was starting to lose hope that they would wake up and see what is happening for what it was and not what they were told it was (which was a lie).
I never had Elon on my bingo card for someone to focus the US Electorate's rage - but I'm all for it.
bhahne
@inthehands FYI I just posted a new set of windshield leaflets designed to put onto Tesla windshields in parking lots. These use language suggested by Anat Shenker-Osorio, to trash the brand and also to encourage the owner to sell.
See the top of the page here: https://sites.google.com/site/bonhoffertv/teslatakedown
Paul Cantrell
@bhahne Thank you for this!
Shannon Clark
@DamonWakes @inthehands that’s an infuriating article.
If there is a manual release that isn’t clearly visible or easily discoverable from inside in case of an emergency the blame is entirely in the hands of the car manufacturer. Blaming the person trapped in the car for not reading the manual is blaming the victim.
(Consider a passenger or a child)
And “charging the battery from the outside” is also a crazy solution to “pets or child or anyone trapped in a vehicle”
Damon L. Wakes
@Rycaut @inthehands The instructions for manually opening the back doors without power are even wilder. Front of the car wedged somewhere following an accident? No problem! Just rip up the carpet in front of the back seat and find the emergency wire you have to pull in a specific direction. Oh, and BTW, there's a risk it'll break the windows when it opens so you probably don't want to give it a trial run at home. And it's different in other Teslas! Happy motoring! 🙃
Damon L. Wakes
@Rycaut @inthehands I just dug into this myself and found an article that suggests the backup option for doing this from the outside is...a different way of charging the battery?
The article also implies a guy who got stuck inside one is stupid for not spotting a manual release that Tesla seems to have made an effort to conceal, so I find it telling they have to present this as an obvious solution. https://www.carscoops.com/2023/08/man-gets-trapped-in-hot-tesla-after-battery-dies-as-he-wasnt-aware-of-manual-release/
Dr. Professor Fred Rococo
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3862643&userid=20544
I remember reading this in 2018, just found it again. Think about #DOGE as you read this.
Jeff Rizzo
@Rycaut @DamonWakes @inthehands I would also suggest that it's a failure of regulatory agencies allowing such death traps to be sold that way (as well).
Nomdeb
@inthehands Teslas also have the highest FATAL accident rate of all vehicles. https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a62919131/tesla-has-highest-fatal-accident-rate-of-all-auto-brands-study/
Paul Cantrell
@jhooper
Hmmm, I wonder what the vulnerability in •that• part of their model is….
Jhooper
@inthehands @tymwol remember that Tesla makes more money selling carbon credits than selling cars.
Paul Cantrell
@_L1vY_
Indeed, and that does make the job easier! Still doesn’t make the job do itself, though.
Mother Bones
@inthehands But this is just...true
Tom 🇨🇦
Also consider promoting this @pluralistic strategy in the context of Tesla: attack the recurring rentier revenue!
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/03/friedmanite/#oil-crisis-two-point-oh
Paul Cantrell
@anne_twain
You didn’t do an especially careful job of reading the thread, did you?
ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘
@inthehands
My checklist:
- Sales of new Teslas have dropped around 40% worldwide, and still dropping.
- The price of Teslas has dropped significantly: they're no longer just for the wealthy
- Many people bought their Tesla when Musk was universally admired as a "tech genius"
- Vandalising random Teslas or charging stations harms ordinary people who are being hurt by Musk just as much as anyone else. It does not harm Musk.
- many Tesla drivers would be public servants who've just been sacked, people frightened they can't get the meds they need etc. What are they going to think of you?
#EVs #TeslaTakedown #Musk #uspol #Tesla
Paul Cantrell
@anne_twain
I also do not want people to be abusive or senselessly destructive; see here and upthread, which I think is much like what you’re saying:
https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/114094071530433366
I am equally impatient, however, with people popping on their monocole and stroking their chin and saying, “Oh, certainly I do not approve of fascism, but property damage is where I draw the line!” Such people are in denial about our current reality. Property •is• going to get damaged, either by fascists or by defeating them, and property damage is a just and reasonable anti-fascist measure when the rule of law fails. All we can do is try to minimize unnecessary harm along the way. So your complaint about charger stations? Forgive me, but it smells much too Chamberlain for my tastes.
ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘
@inthehands I've seen posts on Mastodon from people who are already interpreting Tesla Takedown to mean vandalising privately owned cars or chargers and abusing Tesla drivers, because that's what they want it to mean. I looked at your website and I understand that's not what you intend, you can say one thing and people will hear you say something quite different, or they just don't want to do it your way. My message is for those people.
Paul Cantrell
@andrei_chiffa
I have been wishing for the same!
Andrei Kucharavy
@inthehands do you have a pointer to resources collecting the incidents blame on Teslas and images?
Paul Cantrell
@jmtd
ooooooo, scary!!
Jonathan Dowland
Bronwyn Harris
@Jackiemauro @inthehands wasn't that how some people died in the times they caught fire?They just couldn't get out?
JackieM
@inthehands the one that really freaks me out: in a lot of those cars, opening the back door if the power is out is basically impossible. What if your kid is in the back of the car? How are you getting them out?
Paul Cantrell
Yes. Multiple times. It’s horrifying.
T Alex Beamish
@Bronwyn @Jackiemauro @inthehands
> They just couldn't get out?
I can't imagine a more horrible death, and it's inconceivable how a vehicle this poorly designed made it on to the market. That fault alone should have caused a complete, All Units Return To Shop notice.
Paul Cantrell
@lispi314
I’m not thrilled about vehicle fires either — they’re dangerous, wasteful, and (as you say) toxic — but I’m also mindful of the context here. We’re fighting a group of fascists attempting to end democracy. The potential social and environmental damage of •that•, the sheer quantity of suffering, is so many orders of magnitude larger than a few dozen vehicle fires…well, not saying it makes vehicle fires OK or harmless, but I want to make sure that I’m responding to these two things in a way that is proportional to the harm and keeps the larger context in mind.
Like…imagine somebody set a Nazi truck on fire in Germany in 1934. How would we feel about that in hindsight? Is the (very real) air pollution what would stand out to us?
Maybe you’re on the same page about all that already. I just feel like it needs saying.
LisPi
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