Tesla and Elon Musk have been newsfeed staples
for a decade. I’d kept up with the general story arc and formed an
opinion on how revolutionary/earth-saving their technology is (that is
to say, not very). This work of investigative journalism does a great
job filling in the gaps in my knowledge, and highlighting themes
characteristic of Musk’s public relations style and Tesla’s
decision-making. The book is well organized; each chapter is based
around a topic (defect reporting, the announcement of the model X and
the ensuing production woes, autonomous vehicle technology). This
structure allows the common beats to shine through: Musk’s willingness
to bend truths and skirt regulations, the emphasis of flash and style
and status symbols over practical or environmental considerations, the
disregard for hard-earned industry wisdom in favour of a silicon valley
software engineering mentality.
The author is sharp in his
criticism of Elon Musk, but does grant him some accomplishments. I was
swayed by the author’s argument that car consumers did not really want
(at least in the early to mid 2010s) electric vehicles like the Nissan
Leaf but wanted a status symbol with the cutting-edge,
naysayers-be-damned branding that Musk built for Tesla. Did Tesla help
move the needle on increased demand for low-carbon emission vehicles,
and spur its competitors to develop alternatives? This is an impossible
counterfactual to answer. But I do think it’s clear that Tesla’s
electric vehicles had a small, financially inefficient impact on
reducing global emissions. It’s fascinating that this was written in
2019; Tesla’s valuation has increased by an order of magnitude since
then without much more to show for it.
I also learned a lot more
about car manufacturing than I expected: how manufacturing and design
stay in close step and how company cultures are shaped around this, how
post-market reporting of defects are reported and investigated, how
business models and car designs are shaped around this high-capital
investment and low-profit margin business.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Review: Ludicrous by Edward Niedermeyer
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