The electric car brand was once a liberal favourite – but the CEO’s embrace of Trump has led to an angry backlash

Summary

Elon Musk’s vocal support for Donald Trump and promotion of far-right conspiracy theories has alienated many Tesla owners, who now express embarrassment over their cars.

Sales of anti-Musk stickers, such as “Anti Elon Tesla Club,” have surged as owners distance themselves from Musk’s politics.

Once admired by liberals for his environmental advocacy, Musk’s alignment with Trump and leadership in his administration have sparked backlash.

While Tesla remains the dominant EV maker, analysts warn Musk’s polarizing image may impact sales as competition grows and Trump plans to cut EV tax incentives.

  • m-p{3}A
    36·
    14 hours ago

    The US will just slap enough tariffs to make them roughly the same price as the competition.

    • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
      31·
      14 hours ago

      As is the way of the “free market”. Us automakers aren’t even trying to compete, half their EVS are massive SUVs/trucks instead of smaller, lighter, more effecient designs.

      • Avid Amoeba
        51·
        8 hours ago

        They are very much competing.You’re just confused about what they’re competing in. It’s profit, not size of vehicle, or efficiency or what have you. The F-150 is still the top selling vehicle in North America. Turns out small vehicles make less profit so they stopped making them and inflated the size of all remaining models.

              • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                51 minutes ago

                Do you want a truck too? Or are you the only person capable of resisting the power of auto industry propaganda?

                The fact that people in different places do not all want the same cars is strong evidence that their wants result from human agency, not auto propaganda.

            • m-p{3}A
              6·
              8 hours ago

              A want a decent electric sedan/hatchback but here we are.

              A SUV is too big for what I need.

              • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
                2·
                8 hours ago

                The SUV costs more upfront, costs more to recharge, has larger tires which cost more and pollute more. The costs really add up fast if you are living on a budget.

                • m-p{3}A
                  1·
                  8 hours ago

                  So far I’m sticking with Toyota as they’re generally reliable and common enough that spare parts are relatively cheap and the tire size makes it not a huge expense, but they sure take their sweet fucking time to bring EVs on their sedan range…

              • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
                21·
                11 hours ago

                The Chevy Bolt, a subcompact EV, has been around since 2016. The Nissan Leaf has been around since 2010.

                Subcompacts of all types, EV and ICE alike, simply don’t sell as well as trucks in the US.

      • Steve@communick.newsEnglish
        95·
        13 hours ago

        Which is exactly the same pattern they repeated in the 70s. Which is when Japan ate their lunch.

        This time though is a little different, with China’s vastly lower worker costs, and possible government subsidization in an attempt to corner the world auto market. I can understand and agree with the 100% tariff.

        • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
          161·
          13 hours ago

          I’d be fine with the tarrif if there was a manufacturer actually trying to compete. Instead it feels like “nooo we can’t have byds cars here, americans need the electric F250 supercab!!!”

          I’d also be fine with the tarrif if there was going to be massive investments in public transit which could reduce the need to own a car and transit tends to be more effecient than even the best EVs and is more fair to more people.

          • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
            21·
            12 hours ago

            I’d be fine with the tarrif if there was a manufacturer actually trying to compete

            What about all the Japanese, Korean, and European brands selling cars here? Is there another market outside of China, where everything is sold well below cost after being built using slave labor and lax environmental regulations, where new cars are as cheap as you want them to be? I think they are competing but the cars are just expensive to build. China is hiding that expense from buyers just long enough for them to try to take over every local market at which time there will be no reason to keep them subsidized because all the competition will be gone.

            • treefrog@lemm.ee
              6·
              9 hours ago

              Everything is getting tariffed that’s not manufactured in the U.S. China is just the highest.

              • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
                1·
                5 hours ago

                Most of these brands do manufacture in the US, though, and even Ford and GM manufacture in Canada and Mexico. My issue is with people claiming that these tariffs (prior to Trump) are just protectionism for the couple remaining US companies when they’re not. They’re protectionism for the entire US auto market, which mostly consists of foreign brands.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
          3·
          13 hours ago

          I think it’s a complicated situation but the legitimate reason for the tariffs (not just Musk shoveling money into Tesla) is that battery production is a strategic interest for drones and other military equipment.

          I think it’s logical we should make sure the US battery industry is able to develop.

      • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
        1·
        13 hours ago

        What about the rest of the industry in the US? I don’t know why people focus on the two remaining US ICE manufacturers and ignore the dozens of other foreign manufacturers that sell vehicles here when discussing Chinese EVs.