I purchased an EV, and people were strangely upset

Apparently, there's now purity tests to save the planet - it's not enough to buy an EV, the environment cares which brand

Tesla cars even have a dog mode, how fun

I haven’t owned a car in 15 years. Moving to San Francisco meant city living and working at Google with a shuttle to Mountain View. Along with the rise of ride-sharing and Zipcar, there was simply no need. That changed when we moved to Austin, Texas, then further out into Hill Country where we reside now. My wife and I initially shared a Subaru Forester (a great car, by the way), but we reached a point a second vehicle has become necessary (the reader is free to speculate on reasons why).

We chose the new Tesla Model 3 Long Range. It consistently ranks at the top of reviews from sources I trust, like vlogger Marques Brownlee and mainstream brands like Consumer Reports, and is widely praised by thousands of satisfied owners online around the world. Beyond performance and technology, it's an environmentally sound choice, saving an estimated 540 gallons of gasoline per year, or about 2.8 metric tons of CO2. It’s also made by an American, publicly traded company employing over 100,000 people of all backgrounds and beliefs. More than that, Tesla forced the entire auto industry to take electric vehicles seriously. What’s not to like?

I shared the purchase on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The buying process is nearly 100% digital (no dealership haggling, no piles of paperwork) and I found that remarkable. The experience is orders of magnitude better, purchasing a car with just your phone and laptop. I don’t normally share what I buy, but after being car-free for so long this seemed like a fun life update. And being in the tech industry, it makes sense I’d purchase a technology-powered car.

What I didn’t expect was the response. A surprising number of people are strangely radicalized against this brand. I received plenty of positive comments but also a wave of outrage, both public and private. Some of it was reasonable discussion and that’s fine, some of it was so inappropriate I had to delete it on Facebook, of all places, where my mother and family see. You should behave here like you would at someone else’s dinner table. It’s clear some people have lost their rationality. Ironically, the toxicity was worse than anything I get on Twitter/X, the very platform people love to complain about being toxic.

A particularly odd reaction was the attempt at ‘status shaming’ over buying an EV. It used to be owning an electric vehicle got you mocked as ‘less manly.’ Now, a different group is attacking it from a different direction. The message seems to be, “save the planet - but not like that.” This is honestly why we’re never going to save the planet. It’s also why I never went into politics, so much of the conversation is just bickering about the wrong things. The environment doesn’t care about ideological purity tests. Reality is indifferent. If anything, people should be happy I didn’t just buy a second gas guzzler (we are in Texas, after all, where gas is cheap). As a note, I actually think we shouldn’t view status related to the brands we buy, but what we personally build, who we mentor and our personal health (wrote about that here). It’s more a commentary that you live a nihilistic, passive existence if your whole identity is wrapped up in what others produce. I don’t think like this for myself or others.

We also constantly hear from scolds across the Earth about the ‘climate emergency.’ Any action to reduce carbon emissions should be encouraged, and if it isn’t, then maybe it’s not actually about the environment. Maybe it’s about some imaginary points system where people care more about ideological alignment than real impact. Which is it?

Ironic parody Tweet on this topic.

The irony runs even deeper when people want to moralize consumer choices. Every single person criticizing my purchase owns a smartphone, wears clothes, and consumes some products made under less-than-humane conditions, which we all of course hope are being improved. Unless they live an entirely self-sufficient existence (spoiler: they don’t), they are unaware of the full supply chain behind everything they use. There’s an entire episode of The Good Place that explores this dilemma. And frankly, you have no idea what the executives at any large company do, how they think, and there’s 0 chance you’d agree with all their decisions. If this were true (it’s not) everyone with a smartphone ‘owns the identity’ of forced labor. Truly only the Amish could actually comment about this, but we wouldn't know their opinions since they (probably wisely) don't post online. The world is complex, no one is a saint, most people are doing their best and if you think you need to spend your time judging others about these things, it’s time to look inward.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that much of media, academia, and government have embraced a bizarre form of moral inversion. And instead of thinking through decisions based on first principles, people now frequently outsource their morality to institutions who they look to for what to think. Not only have these institutions consistently got things wrong, grown adults don’t need paternal-like organizations to tell them what’s “right” or “wrong.” If someone knows me well enough to be my friend, they should respect my ability to think critically and make informed choices. If you don’t think I spend time considering these things, you’re just wrong. And when I weigh the decision: buying the best-quality EV from an American company, employing people I happen to know personally (who are very good humans) and supporting a brand that has created significant wealth for young people? That’s an easy call vs other faceless large autos or owning a second gas guzzler. Even if it involves some flack from luddites and de-growthers.

Others weren’t upset so much that I bought the car, but that I shared the purchase. As if people don’t post about their lives online every single day. As if tech influencers and auto enthusiasts don’t talk about Tesla constantly. I wonder if they are mad at them for doing their jobs, too? Or is the anger just reserved for me, more, “stick to sports” type commentary? While it’s not outright cancel culture, there’s an unmistakable chilling effect if there’s a group of people keeping mental notes, ready to pounce on consumer purchase behavior they find objectionable. If they turned the same scrutiny on their own lives, they’d find plenty to pick apart, and one hopes they’d eventually realize what actually matters to improve. Anyway, this level of performative outrage must be exhausting.

If you find yourself getting worked up over someone else’s purchasing decisions of a trillion dollar company with embedded infrastructure internationally that powers our world, maybe it’s time to touch grass. Or better yet, hit the gym.