Tesla owners

[Moorfellduck]

I would never buy a Tesla now - literally over my dead body. I think Musk is dangerous and delusional and don't want to be associated with him in any way. I've got a few friends that have Tesla's and I know that they feel a bit conflicted. I guess they are kind of stuck with them for now.

If you've got one do you feel bad driving it and feel that people might be judging you now or do you dissociate the brand from Musk himself? I not a journo, just interest given how popular they are and a bit 🤔that people think it's okay to buy one now given they can make a choice that isn't contributing to Musks wealth and power.

Our solar panel installer said many many new customers are saying ( like us) they don't want a Tesla battery

The difference between a car vs where you buy your books or who you fly with, is that cars tend to more status symbols, people will see your car, especially when spending tens of thousands of pounds on it, it's what you rock up in on school run, play dates etc (ok maybe not always).

Celebrities and other public figures especially will likely be very cautious about buying one from now on I'd have thought, because wrongly or rightly, the brand is so intertwined with Musk, it's hard to avoid and they will consider public image.

I think that will rub off on others, not all sure, might be worse in the US vs UK, but considering who Teslas originally appealed to, I suspect many of them will be people mindful of that image.

I inherited an Audi. It’s a seriously good car- so economical! I’d actually buy one again.

@TY78910 so if you want to fly which airline manufacturer is not involved in some form of defence?

that cars tend to more status symbols

Exactly

None. But people can choose to drive for 15+ hours in their non-problematic car if they really care about others.

Or we circle back to my original point which is to say that it's just about what people think of you which is meaningless.

Love our Tesla. Been driving it for over 4 years. Very efficient and cheap to run, costs us a fraction of our previous car and it currently has one the best technologies out there. Don’t care about Musk etc.

Interesting.
One of our football dads manages a large Jaguar showroom. He says the cars most frequently brought in for PX are Teslas.

Our next door neighbour has just got a brand new Tesla.
I can't help but judge to be honest. We are looking at EVs for our next car, and my husband was always going on about Teslas but he's now changed his mind based on Musk.
Yes it is true that VW/BMW were supplying the Nazis in WW2 and before, but Musk is doing his thing today and we know about it, thanks to SM and 24/7 news online, not available in the 30s and 40s.
He has just got his department to write to every federal employee to ask them to list 5 things they did last week. No response = resignation.
That's not to mention his nazi salute and his appearing on tv with a chain saw, sounding as if he was high on drugs. He is also trying to cancel starlink for Ukraine despite Poland having paid for it for them.
To be honest if the designers and engineers he has working for him are that good they will be able to find jobs elsewhere!

None.

Exactly

But people can choose to drive for 15+ hours in their non-problematic car if they really care about others.

Yep people should never fly again because it makes them hypocrites if they don't like the brand Tesla 🙄.

As the saying goes, don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything.

It’s exhausting weighing up every decision, but buying a new car is one of the bigger and more impactful decisions.

We have one. It's been a great car but we're going to get rid of it. I do understand the issues around both corporations in general, and historical actions, but Musk is currently directly responsible for things like supporting an openly fascist party in Germany, disrupting American democracy, and cutting off life-saving support to women and babies with HIV in Africa. We'd rather take a financial hit than support him in any way.

Or we circle back to my original point which is to say that it's just about what people think of you which is meaningless.

So you arguing that cars aren't status symbols? And the billions spent on advertising is meaningless? We will have to disagree.

As the saying goes, don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything.

It’s exhausting weighing up every decision, but buying a new car is one of the bigger and more impactful decisions.

Exactly!

I don't understand how people can live with such choices. I guess it explains the state of this world.
It's not about having to buy some milk and there's no alternative. Tesla is purely about likes, not needs.
Imagine if not a single Tesla bought in Europe and not a single Twatter posted. Musk's NW would go down and would have some impact. But no, "I like our Tesla".

Are you sure it's costing you just a fraction compared to your previous cars considering no other car make is depreciating in value like Tesla's and it's only going to get worse cosidering it's now known that Musk is a nazi?

@user9876543211

and cutting off life-saving support to women and babies with HIV in Africa.

Wasn't aware of this, just reading about it now. What of waste of drugs and food, utterly tragic.

Tesla is purely about likes, not needs.

Tbf some people will be fans of his sentiments

I've always felt that hell would freeze over before I bought a Tesla. Elon Musk showed the world who he was many years ago. It isn't brand new information.

I have a Tesla and a VW...if I worried about the backgrounds, I'd be making some pretty bold statements there!

They're nice cars, and I enjoy driving them.

Do you worry about who owns Vauxhall? Ever thought to look even?

Imagine if not a single Tesla bought in Europe and not a single Twatter posted. Musk's NW would go down and would have some impact. But no, "I like our Tesla".

I think it's quite a lot to expect someone to give up something for ethical reasons as opposed from the point they're making the decision with the facts, a lot of Teslas will be bought on finance and not easy to just walk away from, or it may be harder to replace now with something else due to the depreciation. Most Tesla drivers are only middle class themselves, and not billionaires or very wealthy to have the freedom to do what Sheryl Crow did.

I suspect sales to more dramatically fall from now on. Whilst Musk has been showing himself for a while, it really has been the last 6-12 months where it's on another level, a Nazi level...

@peudhrk I agree, if you have one there isn't much you can do but buying one in the current climate is questionable although as I said some will support him and his views.

Tbf some people will be fans of his sentiments

I do wonder if there will be an uptick in right wing purchasers, those who would usually only drive gas guzzling Dodge Rams but now an electric Tesla could be part of their aesthetic, which would be a funny image a few years ago! Maybe that is a silver lining, making some knuckle draggers go electric 😂

Agree @peudhrk the damage has aleady been done when it comes to those who have already bought one, the problem is that people are still buying them and leasing them, but hopefully that will decline massively in this year, like it did last year.

Musk’s wealth is predominantly tied up in Tesla shares (He’s described himself as ‘cash poor’). If Tesla shares tank then so does his wealth and his ability to buy his way into politics.

This is a man who (despite people tying themselves in knots to deny the evidence) is a Nazi. He’s happy to perform the Nazi salute in public, he’s appeared in front of the German far right telling them they have nothing to apologise for. He’s spearheading a concerted effort to drive women, disabled people and people of colour out of their jobs. You cannot separate Musk from the current US government’s actions - stripping back access to healthcare (including abortion rights), threatening sovereign states who are our allies (Canada, Greenland), trashing environmental progress, suppressing freedom of the press. Consumer action to ensure Tesla shares plummet is one of the few ways of opposing the current US regime both in and outside of the states (especially as there’s now a direct threat on democracy itself).

If you buy a Tesla now I would judge you - your choice is directly propping up Musk’s wealth (70% of which comes from Tesla shares).

The comparison with buying Chanel/Volkswagen/Hugo Boss is asinine - Chanel for example is now owned by the Wertheimer family (who co-founded the brand and were forced out by Chanel using antisemitic laws). The comparison should be would you, as somebody living in the 1940s, consciously buy nazi owned/made goods.

Yes - lots of companies ultimately have ties to unethical processes. But if you’re happy to support a highly visible out and out fascist then I presume you have no issues with those companies either. I’d also argue not buying a Tesla is much easier than boycotting brands with wider ranging products such as nestle etc. You have to be in a pretty privileged position to buy a Tesla in the first place.