Tesla sales crater as 'embarrassed' owners unload vehicles due to Elon Musk salute: report

Tesla sales have slowed to a trickle in Australia, and owners of the electric vehicles are looking to unload them or at least make clear they're no fans of company owner Elon Musk.

New vehicle sales for February, in the weeks after Musk's apparent fascist salute at a Donald Trump inauguration rally, tumbled 72 percent compared to the same month last year, while sales of its popular Model 3 – the second-highest selling EV in Australia, collapsed by 81 percent, reported The Guardian.

"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," the publication reported.

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The drop in sales was much bigger than its EV competitors and came as Musk gained a prominent position in the Trump administration, and many Tesla owners in Australia have expressed frustration with the company's highly visible owner.

“I’m embarrassed to drive around in it now,” said a Model Y owner named Jess, who asked to use her first name only.

She said the salute was the tipping point for her, but she was unable to easily end her lease after only a year of owning the vehicle, so she slapped a bumper sticker on the car mocking Musk: “I BOUGHT THIS BEFORE ELON WENT CRAZY."

The Hawaii-based online store Mad Puffer Stickers sells a whole line dedicated to disaffected Tesla owners, and owner Matthew Hiller said sales have been "incredible" since the salute.

“I’m seeing sustained sales of 500+ a day from mostly America, but one fifth of those are international orders," Hiller said. "Yesterday I hit 700 orders."