Australian Tesla owners troubled by the increasingly extreme rightwing politics of the company’s co-founder, Elon Musk, are offloading their electric vehicles or using bumper stickers to distance themselves from the Trump-aligned billionaire.
Fresh vehicle sales data for February – which covered the weeks after Musk’s apparent fascist salute at a Trump inauguration rally – showed a steep decline in Tesla purchases. Sales were down about 72% compared to the same month in 2024.
Sales of Tesla’s Model 3 – the company’s entry-level model which had been the second-best selling EV in Australia in 2024 – were down 81%.
Tesla’s sliding popularity in Australia comes amid several other trends in the market such as the move away from pure battery electric cars in favour of hybrid vehicles; the increasing availability of cheaper Chinese rivals; and the broader waning appetite for cars that saw Australians buy 10,000 fewer vehicles in February than the same month in 2024.
However, Tesla’s drop in sales was bigger than its competitors in the same category and coincided with the initial months of Donald Trump’s second administration. Musk is head of the newly–formed Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
The US has been criticised for massive cuts to its global aid operations in recent weeks and for targeting diversity standards in the US.
Globally, there has been a surge of frustrated Tesla owners wanting to sell their vehicles. Many were previously attracted to the brand for progressive and climate-conscious reasons. Tesla sales in the UK have grown, but almost halved in Europe.
In Australia, a Facebook group of local owners contains diverse views – with many people still supporting the brand and Musk. But Jess, a Tesla owner in Sydney, has become embarrassed by her car’s link to Musk as he has become more outspoken in recent months.
She and her husband received their Model Y a year ago through a work-novated lease program. The couple wanted to pay less for petrol and benefit more from the solar panels on their home.
“I’m embarrassed to drive around in it now,” Jess, who asked to use her first name only, said.
She said Musk’s January speech when he appeared to make a fascist salute was the tipping point.
“The Nazi salute was when I really wanted to get rid of it,” she said. “I don’t want to be affiliated with him – since he went mad.”
Unable to easily end the lease, she turned to a growing trend among Tesla owners – bumper stickers mocking Musk.
“I BOUGHT THIS BEFORE ELON WENT CRAZY” is now emblazoned on her Tesla.
Jess purchased the sticker from a Hawaii-based online store, Mad Puffer Stickers, which sells a range of stickers aimed at Tesla owners with similar views including an “Anti-Elon Tesla Club” option.
Matthew Hiller, the owner of Mad Puffer Stickers, said demand for his stickers had been strong since the US election but “has been nothing short of incredible” since the salutes.
“I’m seeing sustained sales of 500+ a day from mostly America, but one fifth of those are international orders. Yesterday I hit 700 orders,” Hiller told Guardian Australia.
He said while orders from Australia remained a small portion of overall sales, he had noticed an uptick in recent weeks.
Another Sydney-based Tesla owner, who asked not to be named, recently traded in his Tesla for an alternative electric vehicle due to frustration with Musk. He said he was the third Tesla owner returning his car to the same second-hand dealership that day for similar reasons.
Tesla owners groups in Australia often include heated debate about Musk. One recent post, about a Tesla owner being harassed about the company by a driver on the roads, generated hundreds of comments. Another user recently complained that as they passed another car, the driver made the shape of an L on their forehead – a mocking taunt signifying a loser.
