[McLovin]

I understand the perspectives of his detractors and his fans, because I’ve been both.

I was mostly a detractor, for a lot of reasons. First, I’m a hard core internal combustion guy. Typical gas in the veins type, I’ve rebuilt engines, done all maintenance etc. on all my cars for almost 50 years etc. Even an automatic transmission is too new school for me - I’ve to this day never owned one (except for my wife’s car).

I always viewed electric as just a remote emission vehicle, not a zero emission. And as a heartless appliance or glorified golf cart.

But whether gas or electric is technically the best for the future is essentially moot at this point. Right or wrong, the governments of the world have chosen electric, and we are irrevocably down that path. Infrastructures are built and will continue, in the next 5 years every manufacturer is going to explode with electric cars. It’s starting by the end of this year. That’s just the reality.

In that context, Musk has been a genius. He’s simply blown away all the brains at every automotive manufacturer on the planet.

I also believed from the Internet that his products were “shoddy.” Now having driven thousands of miles in Teslas (my family members own them, they are fairly elderly so when we’re together I drive, which is often), I disagree.

Their cars have been flawless. My family loves everything about them (and keep in mind we’re not talking millennials here, we’re talking 70+ year olds).

And, as much as a detractors as I’ve been, and as much as it kills the car guy in me, I agree.

They are not shoddy at all. The opposite. They are very well made. But the biggest thing is the design. The way the controls work, the single screen, it all becomes so easy and intuitive that, well, even a 75 year old figures it out.

After living with it for a while, you realize how far ahead Musk is. Until you’ve actually experienced it, you simply can’t understand, IMO (I didn’t).

You see the offerings from everyone else, including Porsche, and you you shake your head at how far behind they are. Pitiful range. Slower. Heavier. Old looking interiors that cling to internal combustion style.

To net it out, all in all I don’t think there’s been as big of a revolutionary person in automobile history since Henry Ford, almost exactly 100 years ago. I don’t believe there has been as important or influential car made since the Model T jolted us out of the horse era. I believe history will bear that out.

I’m sure Ford was a controversial figure in his time, too. I don’t know is any revolutionary isn’t.

As far as corporate welfare, sure, it was there. But he’s not the only company that receives it. And he didn’t steal it - it’s a part of our political process which he didn’t put in place and is not responsible for. He has, IMO, made good use of it.