When Jennifer Trebb first entered her driveway with her stylish Tesla model Y two years ago, as she said, “a bit like’ back to the moment.”
She said she is helping the environment, but driving Tesla also has cachets. “It’s definitely a cool moment to have something innovative and unique,” she said.
But Ms. Trebb recently turned around and joined the ranks of Tesla owners in the United States and overseas — some well-known figures including singer Sheryl Crow — who are selling their vehicles as the values and politics of the company’s billionaire founder Elon Musk are alienating them, they said. He has exacerbated this tension by playing a role in the Trump administration’s power over the federal government.
Buyers’ remorse is playing a role in Tesla’s turbulent moments as stocks fell in double-digits last week, which consumed most of the post-election surge for Mr. Musk’s company. A recent report shows sales in Europe plummeted and the company faces competition from other electric vehicle manufacturers to stand out in their market share. Recent protests outside Tesla’s showroom in the United States and some cases of harassing car owners have also made headlines.
Ms. Trebb, a family therapist and Democrat, said she had decided to trade Tesla’s gasoline-powered Mercedes in a deal, accepting $32,000 of Tesla’s original $55,880 worth despite only 10,000 miles. Her decision was cemented on a recent trip to the supermarket, she said.
“Two weeks ago, I was called the Nazi,” she said. “I went home and told my husband, ‘That’s it. I’ve had enough.'”
Many defectors of the Tesla brand say that Mr. Musk stretched his arms upwards diagonally, while speaking for Mr. Trump’s inauguration, a gesture similar to salutes from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.
Ms. Trebb said: “I’m very embarrassed now.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
With its futuristic curves and environmentally friendly mantras, Tesla has gone from curiosity to a symbol of celebrity status to universality over the past decade. The company said in 2015 that it sold 50,000 cars worldwide. In 2019, that number jumped to 367,500 cars, while in 2021 it was nearly one million. Tesla people are filling in Instagram feed for the rich and appearing in pop culture. Jaden Smith rides behind the pink Model X, with its falcon wing door opening in the music video. Robert Downey Jr. plays Marvel’s Tony Stark, who has a Tesla sports car in his car collection, and Mr. Musk even played a cameo in the “Iron Man” series.
In recent years, as Mr. Musk has become more well-known, he has drawn criticism for his support for Germany’s far-right AFD parties as part of the Trump administration and his views on Covid Lockdowns. But Tesla’s sales are resilient, climbing every year and helping out what market researchers say is brand loyalty to customers.
Recently, after years of explosive growth, U.S. sales are between 50,000 and 60,000 per month. In 2024, Tesla reported the first annual declines in its history.
Erin Keating, executive analyst at research firm Cox Automotive, said it is too early to speak out about the public’s role in the value of Mr. Musk’s sales or used models.
Nevertheless, it is not only the liberals who have one of the electric cars that make Mr. Musk the richest man in the world.
Dr. Kumait Jaroje, 40, of Worcester, Massachusetts, used his $113,000 Gold Cybertruck to promote his cosmetic medical practice in a compelling way and placed decals with contact information on it. But he has started to experience so much of a rebound lately that he has been forced to delete information from his car.
“After the inauguration, it was really bad,” Dr. Jaroje said.
An obscene bumper sticker, the word “Nazi” appeared on the truck recently.
A few days later, Syrian immigrant Dr. Jaroje said he received threatening calls during his practice, prompting him to submit a police report. He said his practice has also received a lot of negative comments online.
Dr. Jaroje said he had a Tesla-related deal on Seyberke Island to no avail and said he planned to sell it.
Swapping Tesla for another electrical vehicle is not a logistical challenge that has been a lot of new models.
“Many manufacturers have begun adopting Tesla’s power infrastructure,” Ms Keating said.
Karl Brauer, executive analyst at online car search site Iseecars.com, said Tesla accounted for four of the 20 used car models that ended the year in January. Two models are at the top of the list, Model 3 (27.1%) and Model Y (21.9%).
Mr. Brauer said electric cars generally depreciate faster than other used cars because buyers focus more on value than reputation or brand, but he said it was still surprising to see a second model in the second model y.
Tesla’s stock fell about 13% in the last week of February, further bringing the company’s market value below $1 trillion. Stocks closed at $284.65 on Monday, the lowest since Election Day on November 5. At the end of December 17, this was down more than 40% from the $479.86 peak.
The slideshow is followed by a disappointing sales report from European companies: Tesla’s new car registrations fell 50% from the same period last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The association’s score shows that the decline far exceeded the 5.9% drop in electric vehicle registrations during the same period.
Paul Unwin, 67, who lives in London, said he paid an early termination fee of about £500 in December to withdraw from his Tesla model Y’s three-year lease a few months ago in protest against Mr Musk.
Mr Unwin said: “I called the rental company and said, ‘I want you to bring it back.’
He said his neighbors noticed when he replaced Tesla with electric vehicles with electric vehicles.
“People said, ‘I’m glad you got out of that car.’ He added that he didn’t regret paying to leave the lease. “I could have paid twice.” ”
Alex Cole-Hamilton, a member of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Liberal Democratic Party, announced in February that he also sold Tesla for five years.
Mr. Cole-Hamilton wrote: “With Musk’s daily anger, his massacre of public discourses of respect, I can stop driving.”
In the United States, the singer-songwriter Ms. Crow, who raised the most famous car brand condemnation, posted an Instagram video in February showing her electric car being driven out of a flatbed truck when she waved her goodbye.
Actress Octavia Spencer and musician Kacey Musgraves are celebrities who commented on the decision to support the message.
Still, Tesla is by far the most popular electric car in the United States.
In a discussion on the Facebook group for Tesla’s model 3 and Y model owners, there were 93,000 members, sometimes announcing that they bought a car to support Elon or due to its public role.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican of Louisiana, appeared with Sean Hannity, mocking Ms. Crowe’s protests.
“I think she means it’s good, but if she has a clever idea, she’ll die alone,” Kennedy said.
Mr. Hannit recently brought Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump to the show, and he told Mr. Kennedy: “I have my own Tesla friends, and if they are going to boycott and try to hurt Elon Musk to expose waste, fraud, abuse and corruption, you know I’ll really look at Tesla.”
He continued: “I think that will be my next car.”
Jack Ewing and Michael Levinson Contribution report.
