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As part of UMGC’s African American History Month activities, the university streamed��Driving Towards Change on Thursday, Feb. 29. Felder and the McNeils spoke after the screening. While the original film had only been publicly shown twice before—at a red carpet documentary premiere in Columbia, Maryland, in August and at an event in Cuba, the UMGC screening included additional footage of the Tesla completing its journey from Jacksonville, Florida, to Mariel Port just west of Havana. ����

The 47-minute movie is now available for streaming on��.

Felder long has believed in the immense potential for electric cars and solar power in the Caribbean, especially in Cuba where the existing power grid is unreliable yet there is abundant sunshine. As Cuba moves away from Venezuelan oil imports, it has turned its eye toward wind and solar power. The Cuban government’s strategic plan includes greater solar energy capacity.

Felder has partnered with Advanced Solar Products in New Jersey to install 50 charging stations in Cuba. In addition to electric cars, he is also authorized to export electric scooters to Cuba, calling his Bala brand scooters “the safest in the world.” But getting permission to export directly from the United States to the island—as Felder has with the Bahamas, Barbados and the Cayman Islands—was no easy sell. The self-described “gearhead” spent more than 15 years negotiating with government officials in both the United States and Cuba, in addition to juggling the logistics for shipping vehicles and getting paid.

“It’s difficult to operate in Cuba, even worse for an American company because of the embargo,” Felder acknowledged. “For my company to become the first to bring electric vehicles to the island, I had to get both the Cuban government and the U.S. government to say ‘yes.’ I had to get two adversaries to agree.”

There were numerous caveats to the sale, including a promise that the cars would only be sold to private citizens and never resold to the Cuban government. The buyers of the first Tesla were William and Jessica Rodriguez, who own a Cuban restaurant in Burtonsville, Maryland, but also have family property on the island.

While the Tesla is the first electric vehicle to reach a private citizen in Cuba, Felder legally navigated the trade embargo to sell a Nissan Leaf to the Embassy of Guyana in Havana in 2017. That deal came under a limited four-year license from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and involved Premier Automotive Export’s subsidiary in the Cayman Islands. The license only permitted sales to embassies.

Felder said the embassy is still using the car and “they have not had to stand in a gas line in Cuba for seven years.” He is now negotiating a Tesla sale with the Egyptian Embassy in Cuba. A technician with Premier Automotive Export’s operations is available to travel to Cuba, if needed, to handle maintenance and repairs on the electric cars.

Felder said the Cuba adventure is the pinnacle of a lifelong love affair with cars. “I’m a car guy. I’ve always had a passion for cars, from the time I was a little boy,” he said. “When I was younger, I wanted to drive a stock car.”

This story was updated on June 25, 2024, to include a link to stream the documentary on��.

And Felder’s connection with the McNeils? Pure serendipity.

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The McNeils learned of Felder’s Cuba plans when they were working out details for filming the national convention of the African American Postal League—A-Plus, for short—a national organization focused on Black postal employees. Along with the filming, the McNeils were going to serve as vendors at the convention to sell their novel Duology of Postal and to promote their feature film, Urge, which turned a thoughtful lens on a couple dealing with the fallout from pornography addiction.

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During talks with Camille Wilder, the A-Plus vice president of retirees mentioned Felder—a friend of hers—and his Cuba project. It wasn’t long before the McNeils were asked to film Felder’s efforts.

“This golden opportunity was staring us in the face and, after Pam and I had a conversation, we accepted. We had to quickly put the promotion of Urge on the backburner because we were headed to Cuba!” Peter McNeil said.

Although they eventually jumped on board, the filmmakers’ initial reaction had been hesitation.

“Who goes to Cuba? Not too many people we know. That’s why we weren’t lured onto this project right away,” Pamela McNeil said. “But then we met John, who is loveable and generous and made us feel like family. That sealed the deal.”

The McNeils intended to make short videos that could be used as promotional spots or trailers focused on Felder’s undertaking. It didn’t take long, however, to see the potential for a documentary film. In addition to interviewing U.S. government officials and Felder’s friends and colleagues in the United States, the McNeils traveled twice to Cuba, where they, too, were amazed by the old autos on the road.

“Those classic retro cars are beautiful. But they have no air conditioning. They’re rickety and raggedy inside,” Pamela McNeil said. “There were times we were in a car that had to pull off and sit at the side of the road because they overheated.”

They also got to experience one of Cuba’s iconic gas station lines when they waited an hour and 15 minutes to reach a pump so their driver could fill up the car’s tank. But they also praised the creativity and energy and friendliness of the Cubans they met.

Pamela McNeil said the moment the island was waiting for, the arrival of the Tesla, felt surreal.��

“You have a generation of young people that all they’ve known are retro cars,” she said. “That Tesla—it’s something Cubans never would have imagined they’d see in their lifetimes.” ��