You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you risked disapproval? Have you ever risked economic security? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous about risking one’s life. … Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one’s clichés.

It’s exactly that kind of local culture that Tesla currently threatens, writes Coppage. The real danger posed is not to the car dealerships, but to “civil society” — the network of local relationships between citizens and businesses and the market that provides texture, vibrancy and cohesion to a physically embodied community. Tesla’s direct-to-consumer relationship eviscerates that local civil society infrastructure. What happens, Coppage wonders, when Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs cut out all the middlemen? Who is left? Just us, our smartphones and a mogul having a $5 million wedding in the redwoods.