There have been gearheads and car fanatics for as long as there have been cars, but Tesla has developed a whole new level of groupies. With the grand opening of the Tesla gigafactory in northern Nevada approaching, in this episode of Range podcast — our last of Season 1 — we dig into what makes a Tesla fanboy, and what it is about both Tesla and Elon Musk that has attracted such fierce devotion from so many people. 

Range podcast produces stories of the New American West and is co-hosted by reporters Amy Westervelt and Julia Ritchey. Photo by Kyle Roerink/The Las Vegas Sun/AP. Illustration by James Guthman. 

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Podcast: The cult of Tesla

by Amy Westervelt and Julia Ritchey, High Country News
August 21, 2016

<h1>Podcast: The cult of Tesla</h1> <p class="byline">by Amy Westervelt and Julia Ritchey, High Country News <br />August 21, 2016</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/tesla.jpg?fit=1500%2C1001&amp;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-72272" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Teslas lined up at a charging station outside the Tesla Motors headquarters in Palo Alto California</figcaption></figure> <p>There have been gearheads and car fanatics for as long as there have been cars, but Tesla has developed a whole new level of groupies. With the grand opening of the Tesla gigafactory in northern Nevada approaching, in this episode of Range podcast — our last of Season 1 — we dig into what makes a Tesla fanboy, and what it is about both Tesla and Elon Musk that has attracted such fierce devotion from so many people.&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><em style="font-size: 1.375rem;line-height: 1.875rem"><em><em><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/range/id1070665252?mt=2" title="" target="_blank" class="external-link" rel="noopener">Range podcast</a>&nbsp;</em></em>produces stories of the New American West and is co-hosted by reporters Amy Westervelt and Julia Ritchey.</em><span style="font-size: 1.375rem;line-height: 1.875rem">&nbsp;</span><em style="font-size: 1.375rem;line-height: 1.875rem">Photo by Kyle Roerink/The Las Vegas Sun/AP. Illustration by James Guthman.&nbsp;</em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/range-podcast-audio-tesla-energy-people-cult-culture-nevada/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hcn.org">High Country News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.hcn.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=97189&amp;ga4=G-0NS3WVPPTN" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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