Anthony's Tesla

Exploring a paved, single-lane road north of Gold Beach, I noticed a small parking area with a half-dozen cars. From there, a small path led to a beautiful  beach.

Returning to the car, the only other was Anthony's gray Tesla. He'd come up behind me and when I commented on its lack of radiator he opened the hood and showed me the trunk space while telling of the two drive motors. I was totally taken aback when he offered to let me drive but after adjusting the seat, I climbed in. It was amazing!

It's the smoothest ride since my childhood Mercedes and at one point he demonstrated how it drives itself, following precisely, solely from camera input, the narrow, shoulderless road.

When I mentioned the theory about the government controlling people by limiting their range, he brought up this screen on the car's monitor showing the nearby Tesla charging stations. And this, he said didn't include the many others from another energy supplier.

We traded seats so he could demonstrate its "zippiness." And boy, was it! It was as good as any carnival ride. He said it goes from zero to sixty in just over 3 seconds. "And this isn't the sport model." he added.

From southern India, he's a christian and conservative. A Trump supporter, he was enthused about having a businessman at the helm. But when I mentioned the occlusion at Grand Canyon, he argued that since we currently lack the technology to meet our energy needs, coal is the best solution. 

We had a lively discussion about the carbon footprint of the Tesla compared to Phoebe in which he explained the toxicity of the Tesla's battery constituents make it worse than a gas-powered vehicle.

Though encouraged for the future by his enthusiasm, I found myself despairing at my inability to express my concerns in a way that would even begin to compete with the zippiness of the Tesla.

I mentioned Japans bullet trains and America's seeming unwillingness to "move ahead" and I felt Mr. Trump hadn't done much in that regard. Anthony pointed out that America is the source of much of the world's innovation.

I mentioned Buckminster Fuller who, in the sixties, thought technology would advance in ways that few people would have to work. But Bucky's Dymaxion car wasn't zippy & the geodesic dome didn't fit with the Euro-Americans' concept of houses as little (or BIG) boxes.

Anthony's knowledge about politics and global energy production far exceeded mine, but what was most entertaining, for me, was the contrast between his optimism and the stodgy pessimism of the Big Tree conversation a few days earlier.

It was a fine day at the beach.