Novelist Stephen King recently posted this: "I bought my Tesla Model S in 2013. Doesn't have the same range as the newest ones, but it's never given me a speck of trouble. Still goes fast." Not a screaming endorsement, but in contrast to what Mister King has had to share about how Elongated Mush, the titular head of both Tesla and "Twitter," it serves as high praise. He has made no secret of his disdain for Mush's business practices, including his arbitrary eight dollar asking price for recognition on the site.
Which brings me to the lingering question that I have generally confronted via art and artists: Can one separate the two? If Hitler turned out to be a pretty good portrait painter, would we hang them in a museum? Much in the same way that we now refer to George W. Bush as "the one who paints" instead of "the war criminal." There are vast regions of my brain that have been devoted to memorized recordings of Bill Cosby. And the films of Woody Allen. And the comedy of Louis CK.
And so on.
Now, just because someone is a reprehensible human being in many facets of their character, does that mean that they should be ignored for the way that they make cars? By purchasing an electric vehicle from the company that Elon Musk owns, does this mean that I am at the same moment supporting his evil twin, Elongated Mush, that supports a myriad of questionable social and political beliefs? Supporting a man who claims to be exploring space and limiting greenhouse gasses emitted by carbon burning dinosaurs in a metaphorical redundancy of which I just now became aware?
Way back when, a lot of people bought cars from a gentleman named (checks notes) Henry Ford. A cursory examination of Mister Ford's politics suggest that he was more MAGAt than woke for his day. His anti-Semitism was profound, leading him eventually to go into business with (checks notes again) that portrait painter mentioned earlier. Would I buy a Ford today? Hard to say, but I am certainly willing to sit through a great many advertisements for their trucks while I await the next installment of sportsball on my Japanese manufactured television.
Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are destined to buy a car from it.
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Currently reading both Herodotus (on the couch) and Will Durant (in the car) but so far no advice on what I should do when my Tesla lease expires next year. Also contemplating whether Hitler's career trajectory might have been altered if people had bought his paintings by the truckload even though they didn't like his politics.
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