‘Would you buy a Tesla today, Camp? I know you were romanced by the slick design and lifelong care-free promise of never having to stop at a gas station again.’

‘First of all, I cannot now and never could afford to buy a Tesla and certainly today I wouldn’t go near the car or the company. There is a new book available at my book store. The Tesla Files by the German investigative journalists Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden. They gained access to the company data through a whistleblower. Former Tesla technician Lukasz Krupski copied more than 100 gigabytes of internal Tesla documents, secret emails, contracts, security protocols and court documents from the company’s servers and made them available to the book authors.’

‘So, what new insights do we learn from The Tesla Files?’

‘A lot of empty promises by Musk himself who announced that his Tesla would drive autonomously by 2018. Instead, the Full Self-Driving feature proves to be error-prone software that ignores traffic lights, triggers emergency braking on motorways and skids on rain-soaked roads. According to the US Department of Transportation, more than a dozen people died in the US alone due to Tesla software driving errors.’

‘I would never trust an autopilot in city traffic. Mind you, it sounded good as an easy way to get home after a few drinks at the pub,’ I said.

‘In Germany, the Berlin Regional Court stated: ‘An activated autopilot means danger on the roads.’ Tesla management has always been aware that the self-driving software does not work reliably, according to the whistleblower.’

‘I always thought Tesla were the safest cars on the road.’

‘The defects in Tesla’s Cybertruck, are downright dangerous: Incorrectly glued stainless steel panels can come loose while driving, brakes can fail, accelerator pedals can jam. Just yesterday 46,000 Cybertrucks were recalled in the US alone to fix an exterior panel that could detach while driving. Musk’s customers act as test drivers and guinea pigs of unfinished products, testing the cars in road traffic, the authors of The Tesla Files claim.’

‘How come I’ve never heard of all this or the whistleblower?’

‘I don’t know. The revelations made headlines worldwide. Lukasz, was dismissed in 2022 for complaining about safety deficiencies. That prompted him to leak 100 giga bytes of internal Tesla data which made him the company’s nightmare. In 2023, he was awarded the Blueprint for Free Speech Whistleblowing Award, and in 2024 he won a lawsuit against Tesla,’ Camp said.

‘How does anybody who has complaints about their Tesla go about it?’

‘They will get stuck in a Kafkaesque customer service labyrinth. Tesla apparently systematically sues customers, bloggers and media outlets who publicly criticize quality defects. Also, in their analysis of working conditions at Tesla, Iwersen and Verfürden paint a gloomy picture. Behind the façade of futuristic factories, an employee hell is revealed, characterized by physical and psychological stress. Employees at the huge Grünheide plant in Germany have lodged complaints about serious safety deficiencies and physical risks amidst rigid surveillance and psychological pressure which exacerbate the mental strain on the teams. Tesla also obliges employees to strict secrecy.’

‘Sounds like Musk has created a surveillance state called: Tesla. Do we learn anything new about the choleric boss?’

‘The authors present a consistently critical image of Elon Musk. Apparently, he runs the company like a video game and ruthlessly drives employees. Musk also regularly consumes ketamine, which manifests itself in his impulsive and sometimes erratic decision-making.’

‘How does Musk react to the Tesla Files and these revelations?’

‘With drastic aggressiveness, the authors say. When journalists asked the Tesla boss some critical questions during a New York Times event, he exploded and cursed: ‘Fuck you. Go fuck yourself.’

‘Tesla is now known as the Swastikar ever since Musk’s appearance at the oval office in a full-length black leather coat, black cap and the roman salute,’ I said.

            ‘What are you two talking about today?’ Vicky wanted to know.

            ‘We’re talking electric cars.’

            ‘I know somebody that has a Tesla for sale.’

            ‘Good luck.’