Is Tesla a Meme Stock?

Paris Marx is joined by Edward Niedermeyer to discuss the rollercoaster ride of Tesla’s share price, the escalating regulatory and legal scrutiny the company faces, and the challenges it faces in the electric car market.

Edward Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors and a co-host of The Autonocast. You can follow Edward on Twitter at @Tweetermeyer or on Mastodon at @niedermeyer@sfba.social.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Argo AI shut down in October and Apple pushed back its car project again in December.
• California found “Full Self-Driving” was a misleading term and couldn’t be used in Tesla marketing.
• A Tesla engineer testified that a 2016 video to promote Autopilot was staged.
• Tesla is facing a number of Autopilot cases in the coming months, including an important one in Florida.
• Liza Dixon wrote about “autonowashing”.
• In January, Tesla admitted it was under investigation by the Department of Justice.
• Tesla’s Head of Autopilot Software testifying he doesn’t know what an operational design domain is presents serious red flags.
• Chinese car companies are planning to significantly expand vehicle exports, as BYD is already selling more vehicles in China than Tesla sells globally.
• Since recording, Elon Musk was found not liable in the “funding secured” trial.

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