The upcoming season of the Vox Media Podcast Network’s popular narrative podcast, Land of the Giants, is set to focus on Tesla, the disruptor of the auto industry. Tesla has become a giant in the automotive world, surpassing traditional car companies and rewriting the future of transportation. The podcast aims to provide an in-depth look at Tesla’s rise, its challenges, and its impact on the industry. It features interviews with experts and journalists from Vox Media, including Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway from Pivot, Nilay Patel from The Verge, and Liz Lopatto, a senior writer and Elon Musk expert.
The hosts of the podcast, Tamara Warren and Patrick George, are both veteran automotive journalists who have been covering Tesla since its early days. Warren, the former transportation editor at The Verge, now runs Le Car, a website that explores the intersection of cars and culture. George, the former editor-in-chief of Jalopnik, is a transportation journalist who frequently contributes to The Verge. Together with their dedicated team of producers and editors from Vox Media Podcast Network, they provide a comprehensive overview of how Tesla evolved from a niche electric vehicle startup to a company that propelled CEO Elon Musk to become the richest person in the world.
To tell the story of Tesla, the podcast delves deep into the company’s history, featuring interviews with the original founders, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, as well as former engineers, executives, and employees who reveal behind-the-scenes details for the first time. The team also consults with journalists, business leaders, and automotive experts, such as Missy Cummings, Doug DeMuro, and Doug Field, to gain insights into Tesla’s impact on the industry and the real-world implications of electric and autonomous driving.
The podcast highlights Tesla’s remarkable journey, from being compared to small failed startups like DeLorean to becoming the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer and a key player in the self-driving car race. However, amidst its successes, Tesla has faced numerous challenges and controversies. The company has struggled to fulfill some of its ambitious promises, faced legal issues and fines, and dealt with concerns about its technology deployment and treatment of employees. CEO Elon Musk, a figure who is impossible to ignore, has played a central role in the Tesla saga, garnering both praise and criticism for his ambitious vision and sometimes contentious behavior.
Land of the Giants: The Tesla Shock Wave aims to explore Tesla’s role in the transition to self-driving cars and the auto industry’s shift towards electric vehicles. It questions whether legacy automakers can compete with Tesla in its own game and addresses the implications of Tesla’s success in shaping the future of transportation. The podcast is part of Vox Media’s Land of the Giants series, which focuses on how big tech companies impact various aspects of our lives. Previous seasons have covered companies like Meta, dating apps, Amazon, Apple, Google, and food delivery.
With the impending industry-wide shift towards electric vehicles and the growing urgency to address climate change, the timing couldn’t be better to examine the state of the car industry through the lens of a company that has revolutionized it. The first episode of Land of the Giants: The Tesla Shock Wave is scheduled to release on July 26th and will be available on popular podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
