A business selling anti-Elon Musk bumper stickers is shedding light on a growing sentiment among some Tesla owners who are turning against the company’s CEO. Since Musk acquired Twitter and became more involved in politics and social commentary, many former fans and Tesla owners have expressed frustration with his actions and the direction of the company.
While analysts suggest this shift in sentiment could be impacting Tesla, it’s difficult to measure or quantify the extent of the effect. Some Tesla owners have declared they won’t buy another Tesla, while others plan to sell their current vehicles. Interestingly, some owners are choosing to keep their Teslas but are making a statement by adding bumper stickers to signal that driving a Tesla doesn’t necessarily mean supporting Elon Musk.
The Guardian talked to Matt Hiller, who operates an online store selling anti-Elon bumper stickers, and he claims that he sells hundreds of those stickers every day:
Hiller started the sticker range last year after deciding against buying a Tesla due to Musk’s “amplifying of horrible people and silencing of others” on X, formerly Twitter, another of his companies. Several hundred stickers a day are now being sold, primarily to Tesla owners, Hiller said, bearing texts such as “Anti Elon Tesla Club” or “I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy”, or a picture of Musk in clown makeup with the words “Space Clown”.
The emergence of a business model centered around selling Anti-Elon Musk bumper stickers suggests that dissatisfaction with Musk’s actions is becoming a significant issue for some Tesla owners. The Guardian has also spoken to several Tesla owners who are considering selling their vehicles due to their frustration with Musk, although these accounts are largely anecdotal.
Musk has dismissed claims that his recent behavior is harming Tesla, asserting that the company is experiencing record sales. While Tesla may indeed see record sales this quarter, it’s important to note that deliveries are down year-to-date compared to last year—marking the first decline for the company in a decade. To offset this, Tesla has implemented significant price cuts and introduced more sales incentives than ever before.
