<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2025/mar/02/tesla-owners-selling-musk>
"When Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s “truck of the future” in 2019, Filipos could
barely contain his excitement. He quickly paid $100 to get on the waitlist.
Filipos described himself as a “true Tesla fanboy”, and the Cybertruck would be
the third vehicle he’d buy from the company.
“When the Cybertruck came out, I watched the live event that night, and my wife
was sitting there going, ‘No. No. No,’” said Filipos, who lives in a suburb of
Philadelphia and whose last name is being withheld for fear of online
retribution. Despite his wife’s disapproval, Filipos loved the bulky
trapezoidal truck. “I was truly geeking out on it,” he said.
Now things have changed. Filipos bought a Ford F-150 Lightning instead of the
Cybertruck. And even though his other car, a Model 3 Performance Tesla, had
just 30,000 miles on it, he traded it in for an Acura in February. Frustration
had been building for Filipos over the last few months, but the turning point
was when Musk did back-to-back Nazi-style salutes during an inauguration day
celebration for Donald Trump in January.
“I didn’t want to be saddled with a vehicle that was associated with something
so awful,” Filipos said. “When you own a vehicle like that, you are advertising
for that company.”
Filipos is part of a growing movement of Tesla enthusiasts who are now turning
their backs on the company – selling their cars, dropping their leases and
getting rid of Tesla stock. Many say that, while they still love the cars, they
can’t square the CEO’s politics and behavior with their own. Musk is synonymous
with Tesla; his vehicles, the Cybertruck in particular, are his calling cards.
The
Guardian spoke with three people who offloaded their Teslas in protest of
Musk over the last month alone. All said they did so explicitly because of
Musk’s salutes during the inauguration. Another person who spoke with the
Guardian on the condition of anonymity started the process of dropping her
lease on the day of the salute with an email to Tesla reading: “Your boss is a
Nazi.”
Across Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, dozens of posts are popping up
with people saying they are also getting rid of their Teslas. Some have added
photos of themselves flipping the bird as a goodbye gesture to their cars.
Still more have posted receipts to prove they sold their Tesla stock, saying
they didn’t want to be associated with the Maga-happy CEO."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
