[pauletienney]

Well, to me, he used to represent technological ambition, impossible achievements made real. Now he represents foreign interference, social violence and neo fascism. And we, European (and especially French people), have a very very low tolerance for social violence and fascism.

[Doches]

As someone who lived in the sud-ouest during the yellow vests protests, "very very low tolerance for social violence" is...not my general impression of the French people.

(Low tolerance for fascism, yes, obviously. But "social violence" is pretty much what passes for entertainment on a Saturday morning)

[black_puppydog]

Social violence describes the gutting of social security, healthcare systems etc to the detriment of primarily the most vulnerable. Not the fact that people protest, however violently. It's just not the right vocabulary.

[oooyay]

I don't view political organization as violence, I view it as a healthy democracy - even if the country or people don't agree with the conclusions of that group of people. It is healthy that they feel comfortable expressing their wants and needs to the people with power to change it.

What Elon is doing in the US isn't organizing or demanding the system to be better; it's taking control of the system and saying he can do better.

[euroderf]

> "very very low tolerance for social violence" is...not my general impression of the French people.

"French people" includes the French police, I presume.

For "social violence" it might be informative to substitute "direct action". For example, there is José Bové.

[mytailorisrich]

The French are the European experts on social violence (and I am French)...

In fact OP's comment somewhat shows the often noxious atmosphere in France. Here in the UK I see Teslas everywhere and people don't say or do anything (maybe they comment on the neighbour's new Tesla at home but they are polite in public in a very British way, and criminal damage is a serious crime...) In France I can believe that a Tesla owner may fear that their car will be vandalised or that some random people might throw insults at them in the street if Tesla is labeled the wrong way...

Edit: TBH, I wouldn't even say that there is a low tolerance for fascism because historically and to this day, economic interventionism, strong state, strong leader, political violence, tendency towards authoritarism, social conservatism have been big part of the culture. That is balanced by a tendency towards anarchism at the same time...

[iamacyborg]

People are literally putting stickers on Teslas in London calling them Swasticars.

https://www.newsweek.com/activists-brand-tesla-vehicles-swas...

[elthran]

At least in the UK the license plate lets you know when the car was registered, so it's simple to tell if they bought the Tesla before Elon went off the cliff fully. I'm not going to begrudge anyone who doesn't sell their car, my judgement is reserved for the people buying them now

[EasyMark]

This has been exactly my take on the situation. 2 years ago, I followed his exploits and his companies. Now I skim articles about him at best mostly shaking my head. He went from a fellow tech bro to to tech no.

[ekianjo]

> have a very very low tolerance social violence and fascism

Except when it comes to enforcing mandates and putting people in jail for stuff they post online.

It's always the same thing. Don't pretend Europeans have principles when they failed every test in the past 10 years

[_bin_]

Yep, freedoms of speech, of association, and to bear arms are seriously jeapordized by nearly every ruling European regime. It’s a shame America doesn’t stand up for our values and punish Europe until she quits oppressing her citizens.