De panopticar

The Panopticar: A trade-off between privacy and surveillance by Tesla? Building on studies of consumer surveillance, we argue that Tesla cars can be called ‘panopticars’: luxury surveillance goods for which owners pay a great deal of money because their presumed advantages, in preventing crime and monitoring oneself, are seen as positive characteristics. In our empirical analysis, we show that luxury surveillance allows owners of Tesla’s to (1) engage in self-glorification and data sharing, but (2) they must also undergo constant surveillance with all its negative consequences. In the conclusion and discussion, we discuss the trade-off between privacy and surveillance, criticize surveillance concepts as ‘data double’ and show how ‘pleasure and lifestyle’ are an integral part of luxury surveillance.