Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This will be a bit lengthy, but hopefully a fair review of this book. Let me set it up by stating my background. I am a long time Tesla owner and fan of the vehicle. I first became interested in Tesla around 2006 as I became involved in the world of alternative energy automobiles and as a moderator for a large Prius forum. I ordered my first Tesla in March of 2009 and suffered the nearly 4 year wait to take delivery. Subsequently we purchased a Model X for my wife and at 100k miles I replaced the original S with a Model 3. I moderate a Facebook Tesla forum as well as Tesla Motors Club (mentioned multiple times in the book). I also participate in a couple of podcasts as a panelist and have been on the panel with Mr. Niedermeyer a couple of times, at least once things became heated. I also previously owned a few shares of Tesla stock which I sold for a small profit (<$1000). I can fairly be labeled a “fan boy”. That said, I like to think I’m pretty objective and I don’t deny the many problems with Tesla the company and, to some degree, with the Tesla cars themselves. Onto the book. First of all, I feel that the “facts” provided describing many of the issues that have plagued Tesla and Elon Mus, their growth, their finances and their manufacturing process are accurate. As such this book is an important read as there are few contrarian perspectives out there about Tesla that shines a light on some of the deep flaws with the company and their processes. That is not where I have issues with the book. The problems arise when Mr. Niedermeyer begins to editorialize and make assumptions about the motivations of Tesla owners and Elon Musk himself. He constructs a stereotype of the average Tesla fan early on in the book that he then uses to rationalize many of the reasons that Tesla has been successful and that its flaws have been overlooked by so many. That is not to deny that there are elements of truth about some owners, but he has created a ridiculous image of sycophantic followers who praise Elon’s every move in a mindless fashion. My experience couldn’t be further from the truth. While there are those ‘fanbois’ who are as described, most of us are intelligent adults whom have desired to support a vision for a future and are willing to ride out the storm, if you will. But not without an expectation of reciprocation from Tesla…something I, at least, and most other early adopters have gotten without question. We’re fully aware of the flaws and accept that there is some element of risk. Elon’s “antics” are not an illusionist fooling us, they’re the sort of out of the box concepts that let us feel that we can finally escape the staid mentality of the conventional automobile industry. Additionally, while Mr. Niedermeyer does a good job at sticking to facts and numbers in many areas of this book at other times he is just as happy to generalize a few online complaints about problems to make sweeping implications about widespread problems with Tesla automobiles in general implying massive design flaws. He does not bother to do any math to work out what percentage of vehicles these issues might represent. He doesn’t bother to state that most of the issues arise in early production runs and are promptly resolved, never or rarely to appear again. He fails to acknowledge that there is a huge selection bias. If I don’t have a problem with my control arms on my Tesla, I’m not going to go on a public forum and say “I don’t’ have a problem with my control arm”. And yet, Mr. Niedermeyer has no hesitation to use “data” from a couple threats on a Tesla forum to draw radical conclusions about potential safety issues and other problems. I think the most disturbing part of the book is this. One can take actual facts and present them in such a way that they appear to support your position, while, if presented another way it can look just the opposite. The thing that struck me here is that that is exactly what Mr. Niedermeyer chose to do. When unnecessary and mean-spirited jabs were taken at Tesla owners at the end of nearly every chapter really punctuated the fact that not only does Mr. Niedermeyer have a bias, he has a bone to pick. Not just with Tesla, or Elon, but with owners who’ve long supported them. And that’s a shame because Mr. Niedermeyer is a talented, bright and promising journalist, unfortunately because of the origins of his career and, in fairness, a ruthless attack by Elon online, he’s no longer able to objectively look at Telsa Motors, Telsa cars, or Tesla owners.