Back to top

I Don't Have to Convince Myself That "The Model Y Is Bad, Actually" to Not Buy One

As we’re expecting a child in May, we need a bigger car. And here in Norway ~90% of new cars are EVs, so we’ll obviously buy one of those.

If I look at price, range, charging, tech, and practicality, the best choice is the Tesla Model Y.1 I have to pay significantly more to get something similar, or get something significantly worse. However, I do not want to add that much money to Elon Musk’s bottom line – so I won’t buy one.

And to land on that conclusion, I don’t have to first convince myself that “the Model Y is a bad car, actually”. It’s OK to admit that it’s a great car (for the price), and perhaps point out things you wish others could learn from it2 – while still not choosing it for other reasons.

But my car purchase isn’t the main point of this post. I use it as an example to point out a fallacy I see too much. Because, the following pattern is both dishonest and (sometimes) counter-productive:

Elon Musk is a terrible person → Model Y is a terrible car → I won't buy a Model Y

Because, suddenly, your purchasing decision hinges on “Model Y being a terrible car” (which it simply isn’t). Now, this might not matter to you! But if someone hears this, and then finds out that the car is good, they’ll lose the reason to not buy it. So, I think this is a better thing to communicate:

Elon Musk is a terrible person → I won't buy a Model Y (whether it's good or not)

You are, of course, allowed to actually think the Model Y is a bad car! My point is that one thing doesn’t necessarily lead to the other.

And you don’t have to think that everything about SpaceX is lame, due to Musk and other problematic parts about the thing. But you can choose not to fawn over it. In a similar vain, one might decide not to recommend the Model Y.

The way generative image tools have been trained is deeply problematic – and that’s the reason I won’t use them on this blog. I don’t have to also find them useless. That’s a pointless and, for the reasons mentioned, sometimes counter-productive middle step.

It’s a problem when the more ethical choice also has to be the “best” choice.3 I think it’s better to normalise accepting something slightly “worse”, and/or more expensive, because it’s the right choice.


One of the cars high up on our list is the Opel Grandland. Perhaps we would be more happy with that than with a Model Y – or maybe not. My point is that it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to convince myself that Model Y is a worse choice. I won’t get one anyway. And I don’t think you should either.


  1. The only major downside with it, is the sound dampening and general quality feel. It’s a budget car after all. Oh, and the looks are pretty boring. I also currently have a 2019 Model 3 I’ve been happy with – so I know what I would be getting into. ↩︎

  2. Like properly taking advantage of the interior space and not having an on/off button. ↩︎

  3. I’d argue that “ethics” is part of what makes something “best” – but you know what I mean. ↩︎