At the beginning of this school year, I noticed that Teslas had become the preferred car of the Indian-Americans I encountered when picking my son up in the afternoon. I didn’t sense that this was any kind of political statement, but it definitely conferred some status. The cars aren’t cheap, after all.
But they’re also electric, and therefore have the potential to appeal to climate-minded people on the left. An earlier generation signified their environmental responsibility by purchasing a Toyota Prius, but progressives today seem just as likely to drive a gasoline-fueled Subaru Forrester.
I drive a hybrid but it’s reaching the end of its natural life, so I’ve been paying more attention than usual to what other people are driving. I’d like to be done with gasoline for good, so Teslas were definitely on my watch list.
But, like a lot of other people, that’s over now that Elon Musk has decided to declare himself my political enemy. To be honest, I never much liked him, but he hadn’t given me a reason to take my disdain out on his cars until he started cuddling up to Vladimir Putin. That was the end for me.
I don’t like that he purchased Twitter and I don’t like the way he’s been running Twitter. But it’s his friendliness with the Kremlin that crosses my red line. If you can’t take a stand against fascism, then I am definitely not giving you any of my money.
His generally right-wing attitudes are turning off people on the left in a major way, and the left is more of a natural market for his cars than the right, so it’s not surprising that Tesla’s stock is dropping like a stone.
I’ll find a different electric car to buy and I’ll hope he loses every dime he’s every made and winds up on public assistance.
