Musk’s Support for Trump is Turning Tesla Owners Against the Brand

Elon Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump’s presidential bid and his continued support of the controversial businessman turned politician is turning Tesla owners against the electric vehicle brand.  Once loved by liberals who championed Tesla’s eco-friendly objectives, the Texas-maker has drawn plenty of ire from the Left in recent weeks due to its CEO’s political leanings.

Despite President-elect Trump repeatedly disparaging the Biden administration’s green energy investments and vowing to get rid of the federal $7,500 tax incentive, Musk threw his weight behind Trump’s presidential campaign, made personal appearances at several of the GOP candidate’s rallies, and pumped more than $100 million into the campaign. His endorsement of Trump caused the GOP candidate to step down some of his anti-electric vehicle rhetoric but Trump is still set on eliminating the federal EV tax incentive.

While Musk’s gamble paid off big time and put him in an influential position in the incoming president’s administration, it seemed to have caused significant brand damage to Tesla. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO espoused increasingly far-right opinions in the months leading up to the November election, turning off the Liberal and Left-leaning individuals who are much more likely to purchase an electric car.

Many of these Tesla drivers have publicly expressed that they are embarrassed to own a Tesla when the company’s CEO is in Trump’s inner circle. Hawaii-based aquarium employee Matt Hiller says ‘anti-Musk sticker’ sales have spiked in the weeks since Donald Trump won the Presidential election. Hiller is part of a growing number of vendors selling various anti-Musk stickers online.

Once seen by liberals as a tech pioneer and environmental hero who dedicated his smarts and considerable wealth to advancing environmentally friendly causes, especially leading Tesla when it made the first mass-market battery electric vehicle (BEV), Musk isn’t the Left’s darling anymore. Musk is now set to co-head a new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.

Hiller says many people were put off by the way Musk ‘bought his way’ into the administration. While anti-Musk stickers have become especially popular in the November election’s wake, Hiller started his range of stickers in 2023 after he decided not to buy a Tesla due to Musk’s activities on X (formerly Twitter). Hiller is now selling hundreds of stickers every day to a customer base that’s mostly comprised of Tesla owners.

These stickers say phrases such as ‘I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy’ or ‘Anti Elon Tesla Club’. Hiller says his customers tell him these stickers are making them more comfortable with driving their Teslas, likely because it distances them from Elon Musk.

The shifting perception of Teslas resulting from the political views of the company’s owner could give other brands like Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI) valuable lessons on how entities can position their brands in the markets within which they operate.

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