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A Molotov cocktail toast to the environment and democracy

April 4, 2025

Andy Caldwell

OPINION by ANDY CALDWELL

Tesla is the only electric vehicle manufacturer that is, or was, making money on electric cars. Most all other manufacturers lose thousands if not tens of thousands, per vehicle, on their electric vehicle fleets. Moreover, despite being an electric vehicle, Tesla model Y has become the best- selling car in the world.

Hence, if the left is successful in taking down Tesla, their green dreams of forcing all motorists to drive an electric vehicles will be reduced to ashes because, apart from Tesla, the economics don’t pencil out for any other manufacturer.

The progressive left has been telling us for years that we have to go all-electric to save the planet. Now, they are telling us we must destroy Elon Musk and his efforts via DOGE to save our democracy.

Somehow, a few eco-terrorists have decided the best way to go after Musk is to attack Tesla. This reminds me of an unattributed quote that states that, “An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes.”

The quote perfectly describes the eco-terrorists who have been firebombing Tesla stores with Molotov cocktails no less, while others were caught on video damaging individual cars. There have also been countless other types of protests, mostly peaceful, including in Santa Barbara, where hundreds gathered to protest against Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.

It must be hard to live with yourself when you want to save the environment and democracy and the best idea you can come up with is either outright attacking or protesting the most successful electric car manufacturer in the world.

As CNN reports, California has the most Tesla owners in America, and that democrats by a two to one margin own more Teslas than republicans. Hence, it is safe to say the green revolution is eating its own.

The quote about those who would rather rule over ashes also describes many of the protesters who are complaining that the DOGE effort is resulting in too many firings and layoffs. Albeit many of the people who are no longer working for the federal government took an early buyout or were new employees still on probation. Thus far, however, the Trump administration hasn’t come close to the 400,000 federal workers fired by President Clinton in the early 1990’s.

Lost on these people is how perilously close America is to bankruptcy. That is, Trump’s simultaneous attempts to reduce our foreign trade deficit, revitalize American manufacturing and industry, unleash our energy sector, reduce fraud and frivolous spending, and reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy couldn’t come a moment too soon.

In the annual financial report of the United States Government signed by Janet Yellen in Jan. 2025 for fiscal year 2024, she outlines the fact that comparing total government assets of $5.7 trillion (including $1.8 trillion of loans receivable, net and $1.3 trillion of property, plant, and equipment (PP&E)) to total liabilities of $45.5 trillion (including $28.3 trillion in federal debt and interest payable, and $15.0 trillion of federal employee and veteran benefits payable) yields a negative net position of $39.9 trillion.

Furthermore, the report indicates that the debt-to-GDP ratio was approximately 98% at the end of fiscal year 2024. Under current policy and based on this report’s assumptions, it is projected to reach 535 percent by 2099.

The projected continuous rise of the debt-to-GDP ratio indicates that current policy is “unsustainable.”

Hence, the U.S. government brings in some $5 trillion per year in tax revenue and spends nearly $8 trillion for a deficit-spending budget of negative $3 trillion.

We owe some $45 trillion, so at the current deficit spending annually of negative $3 trillion, our government debt would grow to over $50 trillion in just two years….and that doesn’t include the trillions owed for social security and Medicare commitments.

And yet, people are protesting Trump’s effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse?

Andy Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB in Santa Barbara County and host of The Andy Caldwell Radio Show, weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on  FM 98.5, FM 99.5, AM 1240, AM 1290 and FM 96.9.

 


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Caldwell’s imagination has run amuck. What “left” is hellbent on trashing tesla? Seems like most right/middle/left voters are in agreement that musk is ruining us.

Caldwell, you talk about the national deficit. Mathematically our economy is up schitt’s crik. How are we going to bounce back when we are losing financial flow and may (very very likely) have to bail out American companies running in the red. It’s all counter intuitive. But, I am sure that you’ll find a way to make excuses. Whether you are left/right or in the middle, we are all feeling the negative effects.


-5

There’s many problematic statements there. The idea that Tesla is the only company earning money on EV’s is completely laughable and easily proven false. Tesla was first to market but the Chinese have completely overtaken Tesla in every way. Chinese EV’s are crushing Tesla (and gas cars) in every market where they aren’t met with exclusionary trade practices. Hyundai/Kia are profitable and have set up shop in the US and are advancing far more quickly than Tesla. Rivian just turned profitable (and took fewer years than Tesla) and is about to go big with US-made, less expensive EV’s.

Of course with the newly instituted tariffs, the supply of new cars in the US is about to become severely constrained. Think of all the Japanese and European cars we buy! Most Americans probably have no idea how many brands build whole cars and many, many parts in Canada & Mexico. So prices will be jacked sky high and we will sell fewer new cars. The world is transitioning to EV’s and these tariffs are effectively like putting a moat around ourselves. Drill baby dr…..wait, the rest of the world wont want all that oil.


-4

Want you car to be low CO2? Keep the old one going! Extend the life drop in an engine, rebuild the tranny save 4M tons of CO2.


14

Teslas are great cars. Nobody is arguing that Andy. And they are part of the solution to the world’s biggest problem, climate change. But when the head of that company goes after America’s soft power, its scientists, and many others in the federal government who provide important services to lower and middle class folks, people will protest.


Furthermore, it’s hard for me to believe that Andy is gung-ho about tariffs. He has been preaching Reaganism for at least 30 years and Reagan was vehemently against tariffs. If a Democratic president was doing any such thing, Andy would be pictured with a 4-alarm fire in that curly red hair (now gray).


-32

While Reagan was not a tariff fan, he did successfully push import quotas (which also raised prices on foreign goods), that finally forced foreign companies to relocate to the US and build here, especially car makers. The work around, was American companies stopped buying complete assemblies of items (which negated the quota), and had components made in Japan, then China, then assembled here, for much cheaper than American component suppliers and assemblers.


Trump uses tariffs as a negotiating tool, rather than a punishment, and so far, it’s working great! Canada has agreed to lower or eliminate many of their own tariffs, Mexico has agreed to enhance security on their side of the border, foreign car companies have agreed to build new plants here. Many European nations have already pledged heavy investments in US companies.


1

Last time I checked, Canada had levied a reciprocal tariff on U.S. autos and parts of 25% and the Canadian government was already looking to forge new trade agreements with the EU and China.


And I’d love to read about all that investment in American manufacturing. Stellantis has indicated it is laying off workers and slowing production at its plants in the U.S. and Canada. 900 American workers let go.


As for Reagan and his neoliberal policies, manufacturing in our country is in this mess because of those policies. In 1980, manufacturing accounted for about 25% of GDP. Now it is under 10%. Trump rightly wants to bring it back, but that would take years and far too much economic pain. Targeted tariffs and subsequent investment in those targeted industries is the way to do it. Levying tariffs on Madagascar or the McDonald Islands is simply stupid like most of Trump’s policies.


Finally, if you think Trump’s tariff policy is “working great” then you must not have a 401k or a pension plan, because those investments are getting slaughtered by this absurd unilateral trade war.


4

Imaginative reality is not working here- the stock market is taking a major schitt. Not good. The stock market graphs are on negative slopes. Be objective.


0

How did this piece of garbage make it past an editors desk?

Last year there was a Tesla rally in SLO. I stopped counting 300+ comments trashing Teslas. Fast forward to today Trumpers are all about Musk and Teslas.

Dems can be emotional whiners. But at least they are consistent. Trumpers are flip floppers in misery. They don’t even try to hide their in ability to stay on course.


-26

Nice try but there is zero substance to this rhetoric lol


-29

Aside from his 401k lol!


-14

I can’t wait for the comments explaining how this article is wrong


33

Especially from those who are suddenly experts on tariffs and world trade.


31

Like Mexican made Mopar engines? Lol


-4

Andy’s Tanking Retirement is sentiment enough, Hahaha. You see Stocks today lol.


-15

Big business and the wealthy, with the help of the government over the last several decades, sold out the American people by importing/offshoring so so many of our goods and labor. They got and continue to get filthy rich off of that arrangement. Yes, our current spending is completely out of hand, but now the common folk are going to have to eat s*** for years with Trump’s policies, while the wealthy and big business will continue to rake in the cash. Another big transfer of wealth is coming, and it’s not transferring down. This was all caused by old white men in suits but here we are blaming the red or blue party for everything that is going on.


26

So maybe extending the tax cuts for the top 1 percent isn’t such a good idea?

If we are going to have a conversation on fiscal responsibility taxing the rich has to be equally included in the discussion as cutting from the poor.

I have worked 50 years and paid into SSN and medicare since I was 10.

Yeah I am entitled to those benefits. I paid for them in advance.


32

Says who? Lol. 1/3 of my income goes to DoD contracts for Munitions to Mutilate Kids. Lol. You have no rights. You don’t pay the DOD, they’ll End you. And a Judge and Attorney Drool at “sovereign citizens and their socialist Ponzi Schemes. You own nothing.


0

The top 1% of tax paying Americans pay over 40% of the total…


8

And the top 5% pay over 55% of all income taxes. The bottom 40%, do not pay income tax at all.


If the left wants “fair” taxes, everyone in America, regardless of income level, should be charged 15%.


0

The thing is we don’t agree what “fair” means. To you a flat tax is fair, but not to me.

Poor people consume more than the rich, our economy is driven by consuming. In fact, poor people put 100% of their money back into our economy each month. That happens when you can’t save dough. Rich people do not. Hence, poor are more important than the rich, period.

That 55% of income you mentioned is largely kept out of the consumption market and kept in the slower turning investment markets. It would be better for us for it to be in the consumption market. It pays for our roads bridges, etc in other forms of taxes. That income you mention is also largely passive and kept in the form of stock, which isn’t taxed until “realized” or cashed in, but it can be borrowed against tax free.

I don’t see that being fair or “equitable” for the average citizen. Do you?


6