Mason Bailey
Eee-2083
Tucker-2083
09/21/22
Tucker: the Man and His Dream
Throughout watching the movie “Tucker: the Man and His Dream”, it struck me as thrilling and made me wonder what challenges Tucker (Preston Tucker), would have to go through next. Starting with not even enough money to produce a single car prototype, The movie then took a sudden turn to him being accused and tried in court for stock fraud. Every time something went bad, he always pushed through because he believed in his dream.
Ever since Tucker was a kid, he always had ideas and inventions. During the second World War, He invented an armored car with a machine turret that could rotate a full 360 degrees. Although it was a great idea, the army said it was too fast for the battlefield. So instead of using the turret for the car, the army decided to adapt it to their turrets on their planes. For a while, that was how Tucker made his money to support himself and his family.
But eventually as the war started to end and less turrets were being produced, Tucker found a study that the company Gallup administered that asked American soldiers what they wanted the most after the war. The results of the study showed that 87% of American soldiers said they wanted a car. That number gave Tucker the idea to invent a car of his own. Merely an idea on a piece of paper so far, but would eventually become reality in a few months. Tucker called it the “Tucker Torpedo” and “the car of the future” because of all of the new safety innovations it had to offer.
Tucker demonstrates throughout the film that selling yourself well is a crucial component of business and how you can create a corporation out of thin air with the flick of your fingers. Tucker demonstrates how consumers are prepared to pay more for a product's ideals and the principles of the person who created it. Tucker has a remarkable entrepreneurial quality in the film and has a deep-seated faith in both the United States and the American ideal. From a concept that he could make valuable for the clients, he was able to start a business. This applies to the sale of stocks and vehicles without a concrete end result. In reality, this got him into trouble, and he nearly received a lengthy prison term. Because he understood that there is strength in numbers and that the more people who were interested in the automobile, the simpler it would be to convince investors to invest. He employed inventive methods and advertising to win over the public.
The way Tucker was able to sell his product to consumers without even having the product manufactured yet was amazing. It is fascinating what people will purchase if they see value in the item or the seller they are dealing with. Eventually, it did catch up with him and he was not able to produce his product efficiently enough for consumers. Tucker ultimately went on trial for fraud and, if found guilty, risked a long jail sentence. Using the "Tucker charm" he was able to avoid punishment, further demonstrating to the entrepreneur the value of having the ability to market yourself. His ideas were decades ahead of his time, and society didn't necessarily react in the best way. Politicians and even potential customers of the vehicles reacted negatively to him. He had little trouble persuading people to buy the concept of the automobile, but he found it difficult to deliver the finished product, which the public didn't seem to be very amenable to. Despite this, everyone admired Tucker's appearance. They cherished the fact that he was a family guy and appeared to genuinely care about Americans and the American ideal.
The ideal American entrepreneur is Tucker. He put things in perspective and demonstrated that everything is feasible with the correct mindset. The essence of being an entrepreneur is captured in Tucker's amazing narrative, which motivates us all to take chances and pursue our goals.