Opposition to Tesla comes from the left as well as the right.

[RandySF]

I was talking to some friends from Detroit not long ago when I brought up the topic of Tesla, and to my surprise, my friends (who are active in Detroit area Democratic politics) turned their thumbs down to a Bay Area company that I happy to be very proud of. Their response was that, if people want an electric or hybrid car, they should buy a union-built model from one of the "Big 3". I didn't want to start an argument, so I dropped the subject but it left me with a lot to think about. Yes, Tesla is currently, non-union, but it is also very new. Should we, as a country and a party, be in the business of hurting NEW ventures because they do not start off as UAW from day 1? Or do some people (like some Detroit-area Congressmen) just want to find any excuse they can to any squash competition to major regional employers?

I'm not sorry to say I believe in Tesla. Do I want the UAW there? YES! But let's not kill a promising new business before it all has a chance to play out.

[JI7]

1. it seems to have more to do with protecting the detroit auto industry

local matters often cross party lines are are more about the interests of that area.

[Initech]

2. My only opposition to Tesla and Fisker is the ridiculously high price tags.

Other than that I'm for anything that will destroy or put a massive dent in the obscene profits that Exxon, BP, and Shell rake in year after year.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Early cars were really expensive

I expect these to drop as technology advances.

[Initech]

5. I certainly hope so!

I'd love to see electricity over take gas as the primary mode of transportation.

[RandySF]

7. I think it will

I don't know anyone who works there, but most think that the high-end cars are mostly about grabbing attention and rolling out lower priced models in the future.

[Initech]

17. I have noticed that Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi are rolling out lower priced models.

Hopefully Tesla will follow suit!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Well I look at my work camera.

The early digital used a 3.5 disk, serious. It was 2.4 megapixels and I bought it for 150 at the PX.

Ok, I am using a dslr, prosumer, 16 megas, 3/4 format, fast it was on sale 500 and change.

They are just getting better. And really cheaper.

Ten years...

Of course my question is how is your electricity produced? Or we are not getting off oil, just changing how it goes into the pump? (Devils advocate, my job)

[RandySF]

10. I'm a research administrator at a local university.

And I support a number of professors who actually look into this. I took time to read one of their articles and, and I cannot remember the details, there is still a greater air quality benefit from electric vehicles even if the ultimate power source is fossil-based.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I know, read some of the studies myself

But we need to take that into account. It will be especially good if we replace 25% of the city fleet to all electric. (By fleet I mean both private and public). That is where the benefit in pollution will start to be obvious. But we still need to ask what is the source of that electricity?

Hey, I read EIRs for fun...too sleepy, but there is one in my computer waiting for that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Tesla is really small

And you hit the nail. Detroit does not want any manufacturing outside Detroit. Good reasons, if you are from Detroit. The more that happens the more trouble Detroit is is in.

It is not even the Unions who have done that, though they get the blame. The trend that led to that started in the 1960s and has to do a tad with corruption, but a lot with white flight. (And a depressed tax base).

Michigan needs to find ways to increase that base, but they are in a nasty political cycle right now, and the unions get the blame, especially the city unions that calculated retiree benefits based on populations remaining steady or growing (like most municipalities). They were hit with decreased populations, white flight and the 2008 crash.

Sorry for being a tad technical there.

[nationalize the fed]

6. Chris Hostetter

Chris Hostetter, group vice president of strategic planning for Toyota Motor Sales, believes the automotive industry will change more in the next 10 years than the last 100 years.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140327-hydrogen-cars-ready-for-roads

An H bomb is about to drop on the Auto industry

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/26/honda-motor-fuelcells-idINDEEA2P02E20140326

In a few years Elon Musk might look like John DeLorean

[flvegan]

9. Which specific union-built model do they suggest

as an alternative to a Tesla? It should be a comparative model.

[JaneyVee]

11. I believe in Tesla also. I also believe that

Their workers should have the right to unionize in the future.

[Starry Messenger]

12. How long does Tesla get to claim it is "new"?

The company has been profitable for nearly four years now, with some acknowledged bumps in the road.

I don't believe it hurting it by pitting it against the Big 3, but UAW organization there would be preferable.

The NUMMI plant that Tesla retooled for its factory used to be a union plant. Elon has been publicly equivocal about unions, but I happen to know from close sources that he is anti-union, as they interfere with his management style.

[Brickbat]

14. Vehicles built union in the USA are my first choice, every time.

Choosing something else over Tesla doesn't mean that's opposition.

If the pay, benefits, working conditions and safety considerations are strong enough that people don't feel the need to organize, then I'm OK letting it be. But I buy union, every time.

[okaawhatever]

15. Of course people from Detroit are going to be protective of the Big 3. Tesla isn't just about

being an electric car. They plan to disrupt the market in a lot of ways and most of them involve cutting workers (like with dealerships and mechanics). While I'm glad that the car is made and it's electric, don't kid yourself, Elon Musk will do everything he can to keep from unionizing, paying taxes, or being regulated. Elon Musk is not a friend of the left, only the environment. He contributes to Republicans and the Republican Congressional Committee. He was a big Meg Whitman supporter when she was the Repub candidate for California Governor. His alignment with the left and Obama have more to do with shared interests on science and technology. It will be interesting to see how his politics play out in the future, but if I were a union worker I wouldn't consider him a friend.

[Johonny]

16. He works his people 80 hrs a week and pays them for 40

It was probably fun when Tesla and SpaceX were new and exciting but me thinks as both companies become viable economic machines then the workers are going to start wanting compensation and hence a Union. Of course the owner has already talked about moving from California to more union unfriendly states.

I don't think unions kill companies nearly as much as greedy ownership and short term managing. The owner of Tesla is not short sighted and very likely could survive unionizing with no problems.