Who would have guessed?

Elon Musk’s place as ‘richest man on earth’ must surely be coming under some pressure, not that it means very much to most of us. The share value of Tesla has it seems dropped by up to 50% This I believe is part and parcel of a widely developing boycott of American products in response to Trumps’ attack on the world. I do hope people are boycotting Trump hotels and golf courses but I guess there may be enough little Nigels out there to maintain occupancy rates. But there may be another reason to avoid Teslas, which is purely technological.  A lawsuit as has been launched in the US which alleges that Tesla vehicles’ mileages can be manipulated for the benefit of the company:

“Tesla Inc. employs an odometer system that utilizes predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and driver behavior multipliers that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage travelled by Tesla vehicles,” reads the lawsuit. “In so doing, [the] Defendants can, and do, accelerate the rate of depreciation of the value of Tesla vehicles and also the expiration of Tesla vehicle warranties to reduce or avoid responsibility for contractually required repairs as well as increase the purchase of its extended warranty policy.”  (The Street, April 12th 2025)

I feel sure there’s a warning here for users of all devices beholden to the digital industrial revolution.