It's the difference between getting up your drive in bad weather and parking at the end of a 3 mile long dirt road drive and walking home from there, in the dark at the end of a long day, through woodlands in which wild animals are not infrequent visitors, and presumably on top of all of that in markedly bad weather events

A truck, and especially an EV that must be plugged in to charge so you can drive the +70 miles to the nearest town if needed after driving that far to get home doesn't live up to its name or need if it doesn't get you to home or from 999/1,000 times you needed it to

Tesla was one of the biggest forces in dragging EVs out of the fringe and into the mainstream. The IEA projected around 17 million EV sales in 2024, more than one-fifth of all new cars sold worldwide, and the EPA notes that EVs typically have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline cars even after accounting for battery manufacturing and charging electricity. (IEA)

Battery technology and grid-level storage matter far beyond cars. The IEA notes that grid-scale battery storage has scaled rapidly in recent years and is expected to account for most storage growth worldwide, which is a major part of making grids more stable and better able to absorb renewable power. (IEA)

On self-driving, the honest version is not "he solved autonomy," because fully self-driving consumer cars are still not here. IIHS says Level 4 and 5 vehicles are not available to consumers for purchase, but Tesla has absolutely helped force driver-assistance and autonomy into the center of the industry and push deployment at huge real-world scale; Tesla says its supervised FSD system is trained on data from a fleet of over six million vehicles. (IIHS)

Then there is space. SpaceX made rocket reusability real at operational scale, and NASA has explicitly described reusability as a path to driving launch costs down. Lower launch costs and higher launch cadence directly expand access to space for communications, Earth observation, scientific missions, and the long-term path toward becoming a genuinely spacefaring civilization. (NASA Technical Reports Server)

Starlink also matters. The FCC authorized SpaceX's broadband satellite system to provide broadband service, and that kind of global satellite internet has obvious real-world value for remote and underserved areas and for resilience when terrestrial infrastructure is unavailable. (Federal Communications Commission)

So no, being a shitty person does not erase the fact that the companies he drove helped accelerate EV adoption, battery storage, launch reusability, satellite internet, and the broader push toward a more electrified, connected, and space-capable civilization. You can hate the man and still admit the net technological impact is very large.

Sources:

Just a moment...

(www.iea.org)

Electric Vehicle Myths | US EPA

Facts and myths about electric vehicles.

US EPA (www.epa.gov)

Just a moment...

(www.iea.org)

Advanced driver assistance

Information from IIHS-HLDI on advanced driver assistance systems, including crash avoidance technologies and automation

IIHS-HLDI crash testing and highway safety (www.iihs.org)

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20160013370/downloads/20160013370.pdf

Reusable Launch Vehicles Are Lowering Space Costs

As we advance technology in space exploration, the main challenge we’re facing is lowering the cost of space travel.

NSTXL (nstxl.org)

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-authorizes-spacex-provide-broadband-satellite-services

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-approves-next-gen-satellite-constellation

There are many high-mileage examples, and Tesla’s battery/drive-unit warranty is long for the segment

2025 Tesla Model 3 4-door sedan

IIHS ratings for the 2025 Tesla Model 3 4-door sedan - midsize luxury car

IIHS-HLDI crash testing and highway safety (www.iihs.org)

IIHS-HLDI: Crash Testing & Highway Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research and evaluation and through education of consumers, policymakers and safety professionals.

IIHS-HLDI crash testing and highway safety (www.iihs.org)

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

Fuel Economy

Fuel economy of the . 1984 to present Buyer's Guide to Fuel Efficient Cars and Trucks. Estimates of gas mileage, greenhouse gas emissions, safety ratings, and air pollution ratings for new and used cars and trucks.

(fueleconomy.gov)

2026 Tesla Model 3 Review, Pricing, and Specs

Read our 2026 Tesla Model 3 review for information on ratings, pricing, specs, and features, and see how this sedan performed in our testing.

Car and Driver (www.caranddriver.com)

2024 Tesla Model 3 First Drive: Making Real Improvements

The Model 3 Highland fixes much of what we hated about the old car and demonstrates how Tesla has listened to its customers—but it’s still not perfect.

MotorTrend (www.motortrend.com)

2024 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range First Test: The Cheapest Tesla Punches Above Its Price Point

Is the cheapest Tesla good? The revised entry-level rear-drive 2024 Model 3 Highland addresses complaints and signals what's to come from Tesla.

MotorTrend (www.motortrend.com)

Model 3s are among the safer cars in their class, with strong IIHS results and Tesla's low-center-of-gravity EV platform design.

They are objectively quick, with official 0-60 times ranging from 5.8s down to 2.9s depending on trim.

Routine maintenance is relatively light, and EPA data shows very low annual energy cost compared with many gas cars.

Buying used can be reasonable, especially when battery/warranty status is verified, and Tesla's own pre-owned vehicles are inspected and sold with warranty coverage.

SUVs are just big to give the impression of value and to sell to an increasingly obese demographic.

You can get fantastically good deals on used Fiskers.

you are a endless pool of bad advice.

Model 3s are some of the best vehicles ever made

403 Forbidden

(www.motor1.com)

• extremely safe and powerful with great handling.

forbes.com

(www.forbes.com)

Tesla is a robot company <---- you are here

2028: Florida man's penis burned off in Tesla sexbot.

Whats not fine about the Slate is no awd version. On an EV it’s a minimal endeavor to make that work so there’s really no excuse

AWD is only a thing in stupid vehicle designs where they put all the weight up front, and the drive wheels at the back.

An EV truck has proper weight distribution, AWD would offer no advantage, just add weight and cost more.

That’s why everyone is so hyped about Slate.

No one is hyped about Slate. Europe has better EVs for less already.

file Slate along with:

Canoo

Bollinger

Aptera

Nikola

Telo

and another dozen bullshit US EV companies.

Tesla is already half what it was in 2024. it will be dead as a car company by end of 2027, about the time multiple internet satellites will have been launched to kill starlink.