Photo: Illustration from the book
You might be tempted to think this is a blatant case of the "get them while they're young" technique, through which companies take advantage of a child's open mindedness to plant a seed that will later result in a certain purchase.
Fortunately, Tesla Motors isn't that evil. Not that they mind such a book exists, I'm sure of it. This is the work of Joan C. Gratz who worked as an animator and short film director on titles such as "Kubla Khan" and "Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase". Long story short, she managed to gather some pretty penny, enough to make 'an impulse purchase' of a Tesla Model S.
She was so happy with her car she wanted to write about it, but not on automotive websites as we do, but in a children's book. It does sound like a weird choice, but I'd imagine the freedom offered by such a setting is quite appealing to a writer.
The book's title is "My Tesla", followed by the subtitle "A love story between a mouse and her car" and can be found on Amazon. It costs $3.71 for Kindle and $8.10 in paperback form. So, if you wanted to talk to your three- to four-year-old children about the "pleasures, concerns, and consequences of electric-car ownership", now you have some written material to back up your claims. Complete with images.
Here's a list of possible questions you can expect from the little ones, so you'll have time to prepare the answers:
- "Won't the mouse chew on the electrical wires?"
- "Does the mouse pay for the electric power it uses, or does she siphons it?"
- "Wouldn't the mouse be better off with a regular internal combustion engined car?"
- "What's the cat driving?"
- "What is 'Ludicrous'?"
- And, of course:
- "Daddy, I want a mouse."
Or, even worse:
- "Daddy, I want a Tesla."
And the worst of them all:
- "Daddy, I want a Tesla and a mouse that drives."
She was so happy with her car she wanted to write about it, but not on automotive websites as we do, but in a children's book. It does sound like a weird choice, but I'd imagine the freedom offered by such a setting is quite appealing to a writer.
The book's title is "My Tesla", followed by the subtitle "A love story between a mouse and her car" and can be found on Amazon. It costs $3.71 for Kindle and $8.10 in paperback form. So, if you wanted to talk to your three- to four-year-old children about the "pleasures, concerns, and consequences of electric-car ownership", now you have some written material to back up your claims. Complete with images.
Here's a list of possible questions you can expect from the little ones, so you'll have time to prepare the answers:
- "Won't the mouse chew on the electrical wires?"
- "Does the mouse pay for the electric power it uses, or does she siphons it?"
- "Wouldn't the mouse be better off with a regular internal combustion engined car?"
- "What's the cat driving?"
- "What is 'Ludicrous'?"
- And, of course:
- "Daddy, I want a mouse."
Or, even worse:
- "Daddy, I want a Tesla."
And the worst of them all:
- "Daddy, I want a Tesla and a mouse that drives."
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