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Tesla has become the official automobile brand of magastan. When you see one rolling down the road, or more likely stuck in 2 inches of snow, at least you'll know where its owner stands on things like equality and the new national norm of fascism.
Even at this point, I doubt it. Many might be people that bought in before they knew who and what Musk is and are just riding it out. I'm not sure what the used market is like for Tesla right now, but even with normal depreciation, selling a used car and trying to find a comparable replacement may set you back.
Cybertrucks, maybe. But the sedans were, for a long time, the only real EV game in town. Owning them now does nothing to enrich Musk, and selling them does nothing to harm him. In fact, a mass selloff (of vehicles, not shares) may very well be helpful to his bottom line, since if you increase the used stock you make buying a dealer-new Tesla more attractive (when a bunch of them sit on a dealer lot all shiny, they're essentially advertisements). Plus, if you replace one with a gas vehicle, you're enriching the petroleum lobby that also helped put ~~Musk~~ Trump in office.
Tesla owners who care about making a difference should reduce waste by hanging on to their vehicles until they're falling to pieces (which won't take long in the case of the cybertruck), and then replace it with a low-cost EV made by someone else. In the meantime, cancel any recurring subscriptions on the vehicle, put a meaningful statement of resistance on the bumper, drive it to protests and campaign events for non-fascist candidates, and use it to contribute significant mutual aid within your community.
As a Tesla owner, this is 100% untrue. I'm extremely progressive and LGBTQIA+. I now HATE Musk and I'm exactly the kind of person Musk hates. I bought a Tesla when Musk was in his "seems a bit crazy but wasn't a Trump supporter or a Nazi" phase. Many people bought them being even less aware of his antics until recently.
My financial situation, leaving the US in a few months, makes selling it and buying another vehicle a very stupid idea. Others are now underwater on their loans since their value has taken a shit. I have friends who own Teslas that like their cars and don't want to sell just because the CEO turned out to be a Nazi fuck.
It's easy to paint people with a broad brush, but it's the same lazy ideology the MAGAs use. Be better.
Edit: I'm glad the value is tanking, but I'd rather Musk be ousted or, better yet, be given a little impromptu extra ventilation in his braincase. I love/loved my car but now it's tainted and I hate that.
If you're truly on the side of good, sell that thing. Not sure what else to tell you, but we're at a point in history where lines need to be drawn. I can tell you with zero hesitation, that if I owned a Tesla before MAGA decided it was going Eastern European strongman autocracy, that's what I would do.
We're about to incur thousands of dollars of expenses uprooting our lives to flee persecution. I can't justify selling it, buying a another car, paying associated taxes and fees, then selling that vehicle in a few months when this move is wiping out our bank account already.
And what does that get me other than making a statement? It's only because of people like you that I have to worry about driving it anywhere.
I'd get a "Fire Elon" sticker or something, maybe overlaid on the image of him doing a seig heil, right next to the Tesla logo.
We've had one for awhile. Originally it was just to show solidarity with other progressive Tesla owners, now I hope it'll avoid confrontation and vandalism from people like the op commenter.
Lot of rage here, but you know the right answer. I'm a federal employee in the process of losing my career over this shit. I'm going to be financially ruined for years. If I owned a Tesla, I'd happily drive it back to the dealership out of principle, even given the loss.
Don't hate people for hating the haters. Musk is scum, and his products are a reflection of his undemocratic and racist views. You want someone to blame? Look no further than the White House and Musk. Don't blame true patriots who are organizing mass boycotts and protests. It's the only tool we have to combat this overtly fascist movement, and I for one am not relinquishing what voice I have left.
I'm going to break this response down.
Are you just trolling? No rage, I'm simply pushing back against people who paint people like me as "fascists and fascist supporters" with a broad brush and encourage others to do the same. They're actively making my life worse.
I won't even dignify "you know the right answer" with a response.
I see you missed that I'm LGBTQIO+. I'm not cishet. I'm in fear for my life and the lives of my partner and friends, so I'm fleeing the country and starting over, hoping the next place doesn't want me to die at some point too. Sorry about your job though.
Your last paragraph is just a big, lazy strawman that similarly suggests you never bothered to understand my previous comments before responding. I wasn't going to respond to it as I'm now quite sure you're just rage baiting at this point, but then realized someone on the fence about thinking like this might be reading.
I've been actively protesting the US decline into fascism for over thirty years. I'm a scientist that worked in public health. I'm disabled and am a disability advocate. I am this "true patriot" you pretend I'm blaming with the radical notion that we...*checks notes*... not assume everyone who drives a particular vehicle that has been sold for over a decade is a Fascist or fascist supporter since the CEO went mask off as a neo-Nazi in the last few months. That clearly means I'm "hating the haters" and "blaming the true patriots". Clearly.
Edit: just noticed my laptop is still logged into my old .world account. Oops!
I get it, believe me. I plan to do whatever I can to get my family out of this country if it descends any further into chaos. I'm not about to raise my daughter in a country that's so hostile to women.
I also think there's a bit of a misunderstanding. While I am generalizing about your average rabidly proud MAGA Tesla driver, I'm not saying that every Tesla driver is a Nazi. Telsas are, unfortunately, a symbol of a Nazi billionaire. That's not my fault, and I'm sorry, but I don't think we should ignore that fact.
I do think people should protest. I also think people shouldn't buy Teslas for the reasons that have already been explained. I'm not advocating violence against anyone. If people are yelling at you for driving one, I guess be more pissed at Elon.
Your original comment:
You're the one who just pivoted into the Nazi word use. Your original comment was clear. If you call for a false dichotomy, don't be surprised when "true patriots" push back as that rhetoric is what fascists use. I don't want you to drag the rest of us down with you.
Bad argument after bad argument here. Did you bother to think before writing this or did it just vomit out?
What exactly did I say that you disagree with?
This is very wrong. Teslas are electric vehicles, and for a long time people who actually believe in science would buy or aspire to buy a Tesla as a personal way to combat climate change. Even when they had a ton of problems, people would be willing to pay a premium for them (a lot of people also just bought them because they were cool, but it's unlikely many were Nazis). That really only started to change when autopilot started killing people and Musk began to show his true colors.
Being able to just replace your car on a whim is a luxury for wealthy people. Plus, think about what happens if you sell your Tesla; who will buy it? Probably a Nazi, or an opportunist looking to flip them if the value rebounds. It's not going to accomplish anything but potentially financially hurt the person selling it. It definitely won't do shit to the stock price, because stock prices are rarely grounded in rationality, and the people invested in Tesla all have their own theories that make them believe it's a good investment despite current events.
And also, you don't hurt billionaires by attacking regular people.
Btw, I fully support slapping swastika stickers onto Teslas no matter who owns them. That's non-violent and non-destructive, and it helps remind people what Tesla represents now.
Wow, that, to me, seems like something only the very privileged would suggest.
So I bought a car based on low emissions and total lifetime cost. The connection to one asshat has soured the public opinion of the company, so I should take a $10-15k bath??
This is not the way.
Not privileged at all. I'm being slowly terminated from my government job, and have plenty of financial issues that are/will result. I'm also in no way advocating violence against anyone. I'm simply in favor of raking Tesla over the coals using the power of protest and purse.
Don't take a financial bath. Fine. That's your decision. If it were me, I'd go further into debt because driving a Nazi billionaire's symbol around town is a nonstarter for me. My principles matter more.
To each their own, I guess. You're the one that has to live with your decision.
... And selling a used Tesla does that how? Tesla sells new cars, remember? They made their money from that car already, it's too fucking late.
NGL, personally, if I had a Tesla I'd sell it because I don't want that image, but I'd be under no illusion that it hurt Tesla in any way. The only thing that changes is now some other dork is driving my old used Tesla around, except this new owner presumably has no shame about driving a Tesla or they wouldn't have bought it.
The only way I can think of to hurt Tesla as a used Tesla owner is to attack their reputation by continuing to drive it but slap on one of those "I bought this before Elon went crazy" bumper stickers, all while constantly complaining about the car to scare people out of buying a new one. I don't judge people for wanting to buy a Tesla in 2015. Selling it just guarantees that the next owner will be the type of person who wants to buy a Tesla in 2025, who I will totally judge. Financially, Tesla doesn't care which of these people owns the used, out-of-warrany car, but in matters of image, which do you think musk would rather have behind the wheel?
I can never tell if you lot are just your typical purity testing Americans, well meaning but dimwitted „allies" or trolls sewing divisiveness amongst actual allies. Regardless, this rhetoric is indicative of why your country is imploding.
Our country is imploding because it pivoted hard towards fascism. I'm not trying to call out well-meaninged folks in the process, but blaming fellow liberals for associating the Tesla brand with Nazis is not a genuine sentiment. This is Musk's and MAGA's fault exclusively.
For those who regrettably went Tesla before all this mess and aren't in a position to sell, put a bumper sticker on it, or find another way to show your disdain for what's happening. Again, you can't blame people for using tools like speech and economy. And, ignoring what's happening is a self-defeating endeavor that only results in normalization.
You've said a lot of stupid things here, but this may be the stupidest. Absolute cucumber sandwich level of cognition. Saying you lots purity testing is part of why the American „left” is ineffective is a genuine sentiment.
Just throwing around insults... You're very clearly not looking to have a serious discussion.