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You're right that challenging legislature can improve it, but it would be naive to assume that Toyota has the goal of improving it for anyone/anything other tha

You're right that challenging legislature can improve it, but it would be naive to assume that Toyota has the goal of improving it for anyone/anything other than their bottom line. They are solely driven by their profit motive, and so it is safe to assume they are never participating in the legislative process in good faith, i.e. for the betterment of the public and the world. Instead they are only participating in the legislative process with the expectation that they can gain additional power and profit. Once we take that into consideration, it's hard to see their pushback against electric vehicles in a good light.

djanogo 5y ago
Whole lot of assumptions of what Toyota is, we can replace "Toyota" in your comment with most of the companies in SPY and it would sound very similar, lot of people have similar or more assumptions about Tesla, current opinion set to current submarine location.
- cmrdporcupine 5y ago
  At this point it is not Tesla vs the rest of the industry. The other two of the 3 biggest manufacturers, GM and VW, are both intensely invested in battery electric vehicles. Among the big players it is only Toyota playing this FUD game now (even Mazda who were panning BEVs for a long time seems to have decided to do some EV stuff, even if it looks a bit mediocre). Elon was smart to see the potential early on. But GM also started around the same time with the original Volt (which is still an awesome vehicle.)
  - takeda 5y ago
    I would argue it wasn't just that Elon was smart to see that potential, he created it. He showed that it was possible to have a fully electric call that is usable and attractive looking. Before Tesla, existing car manufacturers made cars with low range that were fugly looking, probably trying to show regulating bodies that no one would be interested in electric cars.
- this2shallPass 5y ago
  > we can replace "Toyota" in your comment with most of the companies in SPY and it would sound very similar Yes. Does this make the previous comment any less true? I'd say it's likely neutral or might even make it more true.
- sitkack 5y ago
  Because the statement could apply, doesn't mean it is or needs to. The argument was directed at Toyota specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism Toyota is the largest car manufacturer in the world. They should not be partaking in these behaviors.

djanogo 5y ago

Whole lot of assumptions of what Toyota is, we can replace "Toyota" in your comment with most of the companies in SPY and it would sound very similar, lot of people have similar or more assumptions about Tesla, current opinion set to current submarine location.

cmrdporcupine 5y ago
At this point it is not Tesla vs the rest of the industry. The other two of the 3 biggest manufacturers, GM and VW, are both intensely invested in battery electric vehicles. Among the big players it is only Toyota playing this FUD game now (even Mazda who were panning BEVs for a long time seems to have decided to do some EV stuff, even if it looks a bit mediocre). Elon was smart to see the potential early on. But GM also started around the same time with the original Volt (which is still an awesome vehicle.)
- takeda 5y ago
  I would argue it wasn't just that Elon was smart to see that potential, he created it. He showed that it was possible to have a fully electric call that is usable and attractive looking. Before Tesla, existing car manufacturers made cars with low range that were fugly looking, probably trying to show regulating bodies that no one would be interested in electric cars.
this2shallPass 5y ago
> we can replace "Toyota" in your comment with most of the companies in SPY and it would sound very similar Yes. Does this make the previous comment any less true? I'd say it's likely neutral or might even make it more true.
sitkack 5y ago
Because the statement could apply, doesn't mean it is or needs to. The argument was directed at Toyota specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism Toyota is the largest car manufacturer in the world. They should not be partaking in these behaviors.