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Barefoot Investor Scott Pape on Tesla, Musk and EVs as well as advice to mum stuck in rent cycle

Cars have always been a terrible investment and EVs just let you feel morally superior while you do it, says Barefoot Investor Scott Pape

Barefoot Investor Scott Pape.
Barefoot Investor Scott Pape.

My old man is buying a new car.

“This’ll be my last one … it’ll see me out”, he said.

(He’s been saying that with every car since he traded in his ’76 Hilux 25 years ago.)

“Why not get a Tesla?” I asked.

I told him about the Model Y, which did something that would have that old Henry Ford turning in his grave. It rolled off the factory line last week and drove itself – no humans – 30 minutes to its new owner’s house.

(And presumably, if you miss a repayment, it’ll get a notification that you’re a deadbeat, turn itself on, open the garage door, and silently creep back to the showroom in the middle of the night.)

Amazing, right?

Wrong.

“Why would I want a bloody electric car?” he fired back.

Clearly Elon’s Ketamine-induced Nazi saluting has left a bad taste with some car buyers.

(FILES) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.
(FILES) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.

However, my old man’s concerns with EVs were more practical: where he would charge it, how much it’d cost to fix, and what it’d be worth in a few years.

And he’s not alone. While the Government reckons we’ll all be driving EVs soon, last month they made up just 10.3 per cent of car sales (and that’s actually a record high!).

My view?

Cars have always been a terrible investment. EVs just let you feel morally superior while you do it.

And with China flooding our market with cheap electric cars, prices are only going one way. In China, BYD – the world’s biggest EV maker – recently slashed its local car prices by 34 per cent overnight.

I grew up choosing between a Ford or a Holden (okay, and Toyota and Mazda). I’m convinced that, for my kids, cars will be like shopping for a TV at JB Hi-Fi: lots of weird-sounding Chinese brand names that get better and cheaper every year.

In other words, it’s an electric race to the bottom … with no one at the wheel.

But not for my old man. He’ll be at the servo, filling up with petrol and grabbing a Chiko Roll, while the rest of us are finding an extension cord.

Tesla electric cars and a Cybertruck are displayed in a test drive vehicle charging area at a shopping mall parking garage in San Diego, California.
Tesla electric cars and a Cybertruck are displayed in a test drive vehicle charging area at a shopping mall parking garage in San Diego, California.

The Desperate Mumma

Dear Scott,

As I write this my two-year-old is screaming in his cot and I’m in tears because we’re financially ruined by the rental market. We’ve been forced to move five times in six years – because of landlords selling, or moving back in. And each move wipes out our savings. In 2021 we were left homeless at Christmas, staying with friends for six weeks. My husband does food delivery, and I run two businesses from home while caring for our toddler. We work incredibly hard but live week to week.

Now we’re being kicked out again. We’ve been approved for a new place but need a $4000 bond that we don’t have. We’re looking at a 29 per cent payday loan just to avoid ruining our perfect rental record. Despite budgeting carefully and trying to follow Barefoot principles, we can’t get ahead. Every time we build up our Mojo, another forced move destroys it. Where do we go for help? I’m drowning and can’t see a way out.

Desperate Mumma

Hello,

The rental market in this country is broken – but you sure as hell aren’t.

You’ve survived five forced moves, built two businesses from home while caring for a toddler, and kept a perfect rental record. That’s not drowning. You’re one of the toughest mother-truckers going around!

But here’s the thing – payday lenders are loan sharks. Their loans are not meant to be paid off. They’re designed to trap you in debt until they eat the food off your table.

My advice?

Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 and speak to a financial counsellor. It may be that you can apply for a Rentstart Bond Loan, which can cover 100 per cent of your rental bond – interest free.

Know this: you have done nothing wrong. Your story is the ugly underbelly of a policy failure that’s been years in the making, that Canberra doesn’t care about fixing.

Keep fighting for your family – you’re tougher than I’ll ever be.

The rental market is broken.
The rental market is broken.

Help, I’m Flying High and Dry!

Hi Scott,

I just got an email saying I’ve been caught up in the Qantas hack. I checked my points straightaway, and thankfully they’re still there. And I changed my password. But I’m freaking out that my personal details have leaked. I use the same login for heaps of sites (because, let’s be honest, I’m a mum and can’t remember a million passwords). Do I need to change my name and start my life over?!

Emily

Hey Emily

You, me, and six million others got hit (we’re all in the same jumbo, I’m afraid).

I checked my Frequent Flyer points and nearly fainted when I saw all them all gone … then I realised my wife had stolen them for her girls’ trip overseas for her 40th later in the year. (True story!)

Now Qantas has said that no passwords, credit card details or passport information was compromised.

Yet you’re still right to worry.

Your name, email, phone number, date of birth and frequent flyer numbers are now in the hands of crooks. And they can build on these details and use your leaked details to apply for credit in your name, and you wouldn’t even know until debt collectors come knocking.

In the US, people can freeze their credit file, which slams the door on scammers. I’ve long argued we should have the same here. But our credit bureaus, who keep files on all of us, make hundreds of millions selling our data to banks, so they’ve got zero interest in letting us lock it down. (And they’ve got first-class lobbyists making sure Barefoot economy-class blokes like me aren’t heard from the cockpit in Canberra.)

So, for now, change all your passwords (use a password manager – the Apple one is decent), and check your credit report at least once a year (you can get a copy of your credit report free, every three months, by writing to each credit agency – Experian, Equifax and illion).

Oh, and there’s no need to change your name, unless you’re changing it to Alan Joyce, which gets you an automatic upgrade to the pointy end of the plane.

Qantas, and its frequent flyer customers, have had a bad week.
Qantas, and its frequent flyer customers, have had a bad week.

Your Advice is TERRIBLE, Barefoot

Scott,

Your advice last week to Olli, the 10-year-old with ADHD wanting to start a footy coaching business, was terrible. Firstly, he is not a trained coach. Secondly, the concept of volunteerism is DESTROYED by someone like Olli doing this type of thing. I’m a 67-year-old basketball coach and have never asked for payment to help players or other coaches. Over the last 20 years, I’ve watched the idea of giving back all but disappear. Volunteering now means, “Yeah, I’ll help – how much will you pay me?” By encouraging Olli down this path, you’re teaching kids the wrong ideas. Coaching should come from experienced or professional coaches. I don’t mind the entrepreneurial angle, but this sets a precedent with real consequences down the track.

Neil

Hey Neil,

You sound like the type of coach who calls timeouts during warm-ups.

Look, I get you’re passionate about volunteering, and good on you for giving back for 20 years. But the only precedent that I see here is a 10-year-old kid with ADHD finding focus and joy.

Besides, what Olli’s really offering is premium babysitting with a footy thrown in. The parents get a break, the little kids get to run around with an older role model who genuinely loves the game, and Olli learns that passion plus effort can equal pocket money.

My book Barefoot Kids is all about this. I teach kids to start their own little businesses because it unleashes a wave of creativity, passion, and work ethic, that you’ll never get by bribing them with pocket money to clean their room.

Finally, having him make the connection between doing what he loves and earning from it – that’s the gold right there, coach! Without it, we end up with kids studying dentistry just for the gold fillings.

P.S. I bet Olli’s sessions are way more fun than yours ever were.

Originally published as Barefoot Investor Scott Pape on Tesla, Musk and EVs as well as advice to mum stuck in rent cycle

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/business/qld-business/barefoot-investor-scott-pape-on-tesla-musk-and-evs-as-well-as-advice-to-mum-stuck-in-rent-cycle/news-story/63976380e689979b1e7fe8cbe8497936