Miles Axlerod is definitely a character that we're meant to root against due to his true nature, he's one of Pixar's most unpopular villains due to a lack of memorability as well as an utterly nonsensical plan. Creating a fake alternative fuel solely to sabotage it and make the idea of alternative fuel look bad is not only ridiculously impractical and convoluted, but comes off as especially pointless due to the film's implication that alternative fuel isn't even being used that much yet and when Mater figures out that Sir Miles Axlerod is the mastermind, many viewers have expressed both surprise and frustration that Mater was actually right. The fact that Sir Miles Axlerod was exposed by Mater, of all people, makes him even more pathetic than anything and less of a threatening figure.
