A Molotov cocktail toast to the environment and democracy

April 4, 2025

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.