Know what you know
One of my favorite news stories of the past week comes out of China, a place I don’t normally look for reason-based public policy.
The country recently banned dozens of live streamers who apparently didn’t know enough about their topics. First, cheers to them for recognizing these charlatans. But they went further. Officials there published new guidelines that require that such streamers in the areas of law, finance, medicine, and education actually have the qualifications to discuss such matters.
Can you imagine if YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok did this?
I know, it would be AMAZING.
I don’t know what it is about social media that opened the doors for every snake-oil-salesperson and idiot to proclaim they know more about a given topic than you. You don’t have to be trained in something to claim expertise. On most social media, all that’s required is that you post about the same topic, constantly.
It’s not that I want everyone on YouTube to earn a license to, say, show you how to clean up an old watch. But the categories China identified are ones where training should be required, especially if you want to give someone else advice.
I never thought I’d say this, but we can learn a thing or two from China.
10 years of Tesla
Tesla recently passed a milestone. The electric car company celebrated a decade since the first Tesla Model S rolled off the factory floor.
That car was not Tesla’s first electric car. It had launched the pricey Roadster EV sports car a few years before, but not everyone believed that Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk could pull it off. I remember speaking to Elon just a few months before that first Model S delivery. He was confident in not only successfully delivering the long-awaited EV but making them affordable for everyone.
In the year or so that followed, I didn’t see a single Model S on the road…until I traveled to San Francisco. I remember sitting in a taxi and spotting one heading downtown. It was a lovely car. I became somewhat obsessed with understanding who was buying these cars. Was there a prototypical Tesla customer?
Eventually, I tracked down three such customers, a Florida realtor, a drag race driver (also in Florida), and a Minnesota environmentalist.
What I learned is that there was no prototypical Tesla owner. The realtor wanted a new luxury car (fully loaded a Model S could run you over $100K) and thought the Tesla would be a good fit. Her story of running out of power before reaching one of the then still-too-rare charging stations was one for the books.
The drag racer wanted to test out the Model S’s remarkable 0-to-60 speed (somewhere under 4 seconds). At one point, we tested it together. It was head-snappingly fast.
The environmentalist wanted to do his part to help save the planet. I joined him on the ride up to his yearly camping trip outside of Ely, Minnesota, and visited what was then the most remote charging station in the country.
A decade later, Tesla has achieved, thanks to new more affordable models like the Model 3 and Model Y, relative ubiquity, I no longer wonder about who is the Tesla customer because it seems to be everybody - especially as gas prices go through the roof.
Programming Note:
Next Monday is July 4. While many of us are not in the mood for celebration, I will not be producing a newsletter and, instead, be taking the day to reflect on what the founding fathers intended for this country and if we are fulfilling that promise.
This newsletter returns on July 11.
Missed on Medium and TechRadar
Google’s AI hires a lawyer, but it’s me who needs a counselor
The M2 MacBook Pro is phenomenal - but man, I’m going to miss the Touch Bar
This $280 phone is a lesson in affordability – I hope Apple and Samsung are paying attention
Internet Explorer cheated its way to the top, and I won’t miss it
Stay well
See you soon