The electric car brand was once a liberal favourite – but the CEO’s embrace of Trump has led to an angry backlash

Summary

Elon Musk’s vocal support for Donald Trump and promotion of far-right conspiracy theories has alienated many Tesla owners, who now express embarrassment over their cars.

Sales of anti-Musk stickers, such as “Anti Elon Tesla Club,” have surged as owners distance themselves from Musk’s politics.

Once admired by liberals for his environmental advocacy, Musk’s alignment with Trump and leadership in his administration have sparked backlash.

While Tesla remains the dominant EV maker, analysts warn Musk’s polarizing image may impact sales as competition grows and Trump plans to cut EV tax incentives.

    • Batman@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      161·
      23 days ago

      I’m going to need some data for that one before I believe it. In the US, I have known many women who own trucks. I have lived in rural and urban areas and both had plenty of women who owned and drove trucks, including semi cabs. I could believe less by comparison but not “not many” without some data.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        3·
        22 days ago

        Obviously it’s relative compared to men.
        Indirectly implied, women have a generally better safety record than men, and Trucks have the worst safety record. So there might be a trend that fewer women than men drive trucks for safety reasons.
        In my experience women generally prefer smaller cars, which also would mean that trucks are not generally preferred by women.
        Also when you look at professional cargo truck drivers, there’s an overwhelming majority of men.
        Trucks and pickup trucks are used for things that are bulky and heavy, women generally don’t do as much physical heavy lifting as men.

        All these facts, put together with personal experience, that indeed more men than women drive trucks, fit together, and I see absolutely no evidence against it.

        You can very quickly make your own survey. Go to Youtube and search cybertruck or just truck, and see how many men and women post either.

        Edit:
        I just did the youtube search myself, and I had to scroll past 20 videos before the first featuring a woman turned up, something about the 70’s being great?!

        Edit 2:
        https://motorandwheels.com/pickup-truck-demographics-segments/

        88% of pickup truck buyers identify as male.

      • krashmo@lemmy.world
        96·
        23 days ago

        Just an anecdotal observation. A very small amount of trucks I see have women driving them. Could be lots of reasons for that but the simplest seems to be that women don’t buy them near as often. I don’t feel like an offhand remark needs a citation, though you’re welcome to look it up if you find the subject interesting enough to warrant further research.

    • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
      61·
      22 days ago

      There are plenty of Ag women around me driving trucks. And if we’re including SUVs, which the cybertruck is more similar to then any real truck, that number goes way up. Especially among mothers, toxic maternity pushes SUV sales. “I just don’t seem safe picking up little Timmy in anything other then a 3 ton tank.”