A Transformative Arc of Potential Energy

 

Several Tesla vehicles were set on fire in Las Vegas early Tuesday morning, according to police.

This is wrong—violence and vandalism are never the answer.
pic.twitter.com/01l75YXARH

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) March 18, 2025

I have a deep and intractable vein of cynicism that runs through the entirety of my being--are all the Tesla fires politically demonstrative, or  is it possible that arson and cutting short the life of a piece of technology is not symbolic of a rage against the machine-manufacturer, but a smoke signal that the brand's issues are more immediate? I have wondered what the resale value of a Tesla is and whether that picture is likely to improve. Also, what flat sales mean for Tesla dealerships. And also, whether insurance payouts might be a motivator in some instances.

I'm not accusing people of a widespread conspiracy of bad faith. It's just if there WERE opportunists in the mix, I would totally not be surprised. 

As for me, I dislike criminality as a form of immediate protest. It gets one in more trouble personally than its effectiveness generally warrants and threatens to negatively color the message instead of raising the right kind of consciousness. I like protest movements to follow the rules of drama--start small and build to a place of pity and fear. I am very on the side of Swasticar Art and so on. Damaging other people's property, however, is a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE THING--which can also be done in entertaining ways and might be instructive, but by all means, I do protest it! How Awful! My stars and garters!

That any potential buyer of Musk's products must certainly keep in mind. It's a purely economic choice, and I always root for the benefits of the consumer. If you feel like the parts and maintenance future for your vehicle as well as the reliability of the vehicle whose manufacturer went out of his way to seek deregulation for and stop safety investigations of is completely right for you--I will absolutely 100% support your choice. Free Will is all that and more, babies!

But if Musk himself affects to be really sad and confused that he, a simple automaker and rocketman. who has a humble desire to seek off-planet colonization for humanity IS THAT SO WRONG?!!? He should probably not seek that relief from consequence while being a slit-eyed grannystarver whilst also being the richest guy out there. He might prefer not to suppose his USAID cuts and so forth are a form of murder. Denying food to babies, or drugs to HIV patients, or cutting cancer treatments, or making benefits inaccessible to veterans, disabled people, pensioners, is a choice with fairly determinable outcomes. He can try to separate himself from it rhetorically.

But the deliberate cutting of DOGE is a moral choice. A budget is a moral choice. And what one choses to invest in is a sign of one's morality. One might invest in EV technology as a clean-zero-emission solution to better air and less global warming. But once the proceeds of that vision are turned over to a spoiled dickhead in support of a dumbass government whose leader thinks "clean coal" is like little nuggets being washed in Dawn like an oiled-up seagull after an oil spill, making everything okey-doke--hard pass.  Once that financial construct supports fascism--hard pass. 

I don't like the arson--I really think it might be spoiled energy that should be directed elsewhere.  But I see potential energy being stored across a great linked system, and wonder what exactly it might do if properly directed? 

It's a fascinating engineering question. How to best harness it? Where can this good do its most for ROI? And can Musk himself sort out how to fix his potential for decline?

I feel like he needs to be grounded or shorted. Whatever works.