At the end of February, David Andreone, who lives in Culver City, released a photo of its black model 3 Tesla on Facebook and Instagram and offered it for sale for $ 35,000. Although the contributions received dozens of comments, no buyers appeared.
The 59 -year -old Andone said he loves to drive the car, but made the decision to sell after the brand was too much to endure the brand with the founder Elon Musk.
Musk, who is considered an eccentric visionary, who has made electric vehicles popular, has taken an outstanding position in Trump administration as a leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency or Doge since January.
Once an advocate of the activism of climate change, Musk now represents President Trump's agenda, including the efforts to reduce the federal government and the rollback environmental protection.
“I have never bought or rented a car in my life for political reasons,” said Andone. “Now I have the feeling that I want to get rid of one for political reasons. I'm just somehow shocked and horrified what he is doing. “
While Andreone sells his vehicle, countless other Tesla drivers struggle with what the cars stand for and whether they want to be connected to the brand. Some are ashamed or ashamed of the connection with Musk, and some have hit car stickers that let people know that they bought the car before Musk took on its new public role.
Although Musk and Tesla are still dominating the market for electric vehicles, the counter -reaction against the conservative policy of Musk to Tesla's deep share price and falling resale, especially in a liberal California, could contribute.
The Tesla share has dropped by 26% last month and has so far fallen by 35%, which reflects the concerns of some investors that Musk does not spend enough time to take care of its highest business.
The protests come at a crucial time for Tesla, which was already exposed to slowing down his business.
Vehicle sales decreased for the first time in the company's history last year, the company reported in January. Deliveries decreased to 1.79 million, which corresponds to a decline of 1.1% compared to 1.81 million vehicles in 2023, which was due to the analysts to a lack of new models in an increasingly competitive market for electric vehicles.
In the fourth quarter, profits rose 3% to 73 cents per share (without one -time elements) below the 77 cents per share that had estimated analysts.
Although it is based in Austin, Texas, Tesla keeps considerable connections to California with a large production facility in Fremont.
A Tesla representative did not respond to inquiries about comments.
To increase Tesla's popularity with his supporters Trump bought publicly A new red model on the lawn of the White House at the beginning of this week. It was a show of loyalty to Musk, which Tesla, according to experts, will certainly bring in some fans on the right side of the political spectrum, but is certainly alienated to others. The confirmation increased the Tesla shares, which rose by 8% on Wednesday, to close by USD 248.09.
“The question is that Musk loses more people than he loses?” Asked Karl Brauer, analyst at Iseecars.com. The resale prices for used Teslas could indicate that the demand for vehicles is drastically falling, he said.
In February, Tesla led the list of brands that lost the resale value of year compared to the year, followed by Maserati and Chrysler, as was stated by Brauer. The price for a used Tesla model S and model Y dropped from February 2024 to February 2025 by about 16%. The price of a used model 3 dropped by 13.5%in the same period.
“The price is a reflection of supply and demand,” said Brauer. “So it could be that nobody wants to buy anymore or that there is a massive influx of them or both.”
In the middle of the investor worries, Trump's opponents organized themselves against Musk and his car company and held protests all over the country Encourage people to get rid of their Teslas and denounce musk. Others have taken their frustration through destroy or destroy The electric vehicles and their charging stations.
In San Francisco, Fliers who are posted in the city are supposed to have a photo of Elon Musk carry out a Nazi greeting And advise the reader to “sell your Swastar”.
Musk disagreed that the greeting was a gesture of the Nazi era and blamed the liberal news media for misunderstood his actions.
While political activism against a vehicle brand is not common, said Brauer, it has already happened. In the mid -2000s, when awareness of climate change rose Gas injuries Like lobster by throwing eggs on them.
Apart from electric vehicles, including Spacecraft Maker SpaceX, Internet service provider Starlink and Neurotechnology Company Neuralink, Musk has other activities. But his conservative image is closely connected to Teslas, and the cars are inextricably linked to his personal brand.
“Musk will have to do better to reconcile his tasks of Doge and Trump as managing director of Tesla,” said Dan Ives, Analyst at Wedbush Securities, who has a merchant for Tesla shares. “If you are a synonym for a brand, it is a careful balance and it has almost reached a turning point.”
IVES estimated that less than 5% of the Tesla owners would be held from the purchase of another Tesla due to the political acts of Musk. But the bad reputation could affect the company's end result, he said.
“If you sell a mass market vehicle and accept political affiliation like this, there is a disadvantage,” said Ives.
Musk has already lost favor with many customers that he once asked, including Tesla driver Dan Bateman, 75.
Bateman, a Diamond Bar resident who has lived in a Tesla for five years, said he was no longer satisfied with the picture that is the car. He identified politically as left in the middle and wanted an electric vehicle to get gas cars off the street, he said.
“My original statement was that I made my small part to end climate change,” said Bateman. “Without Elon there would be no electric cars on the street and it seems as if he had turned his back on it. I feel how I was cheated. “
Bateman does not plan to sell his Tesla, but he has a car sticker with the inscription with the inscription “I bought it before we knew that Elon was crazy.”
Several Similar car stickers Are available online for Tesla drivers who want to show their disapproval. “This is my last Tesla,” says one of them.
Bateman said he was frustrated by Elon's actions, but the resale value of his car had dropped too much to sell it. He bought it for about 90,000 US dollars, he said and estimates that it is now worth $ 13,000.
“I can't afford to scrap it,” he said. “I just feel so disappointed with him.”
Tesla has been the most famous option among electric vehicles for years and was once the only mainstream option, said Sam Abuelsamid from transportation technology company Telemetry Insights. Early EV users who were enthusiastic about the aspect of climate change were probably attracted to the brand, he said.
“People who buy EVs were more politically more left -wing,” said Abuelsamid. “In general, they are more likely to assume that climate change is a problem and that we have to do something about it.”
Like Bateman, many Tesla drivers have the feeling that Muschus has lost sight of the mission that she even put on the vehicles, he said.
“When they saw that Musk showed his true colors of his personal politics and his personal attitudes, they decided that this is not someone they want to support with their dollars,” said Abuelsamid.
The public person of Musk creates problems for all Tesla drivers, not only for those who oppose Doge and the Trump administration. A cybertruck driver who asked not to be named for fear of retaliatory measures said that someone recently left a rough message that dust pulled on his vehicle.
The 44-year-old inhabitant of Ventura County ordered his cybertruck in 2019, only a few days after pre-orders were made available. He received it last September and said that he never had political motivations for the purchase of $ 130,000.
“Musk will do what he wants and what he thinks is right, and I don't necessarily judge him for it,” said the cybertruck driver. “But he alienates a large part of the consumer and may lead to setbacks against existing customers.”
He is worried that his truck will be damaged when he parked it for a long time, but he is not ashamed to drive him around.
“I didn't buy it as a political symbol,” he said. “It's not like I have political things in the truck or the like. Why should I feel embarrassed? “