can we still drive Musk’s Tesla?

Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the astonishing alliance. Their link? An explosive combination of political and economic interests.Image: watson / dr

Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the new inseparable friends, are ready to transform the America of tomorrow. But will the boss of Tesla and the president-elect be followed by fans of the famous electric car? Meetings with French-speaking people, not all of them very comfortable with “rolling thanks to the billionaire”.

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“A neighbor made a dirty remark to me recently, to the effect that I was indirectly financing Trump by buying Tesla,” Alain gets annoyed. This salesman from Nyon bought his Tesla years ago. “Before it was cool,” he smiles. Before getting serious again.

“The brand was not as associated with the megalomaniac delusions of its boss. For me, at the time, I invested in an excellent electric car, period. Today, my opinion on this vehicle has not changed”

On the other hand, it is the deduction people make about his values when they see his car that bothers him. So he took the initiative to silence his neighbors: on the internet, he ordered a sticker announcing the color.

“I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.”Image: dr

There are plenty of stickers to stick on your car to distance yourself from the troublemaker. Just type “tesla elon musk stickers” on Google to come across many sites offering such pamphlets.

“Bought before we all knew he was stupid.”

Thibaut also stuck such a sticker behind his Tesla. “But I don’t regret buying this car. She’s great.”

A friendship circumstances

For Elon Musk, the car is now electric; Donald Trump prefers to make fun of these silent cars, far too clean to deserve a place in his political program. But the billionaires, these “friends” of circumstances, find something to serve their own ambitions in this strange alliance. And many Tesla owners have understood this well.

If some people don’t care what the fanciful boss of the electric car company embodies, others regret the purchase of a vehicle stamped “Elon Musk”.

“We can no longer acheter Teslait’s connoted”

Félix and Adrien, both executives in companies based in Lausanne, hesitated for a long time about buying a Tesla. “For the way we use a car, an electric one would have been perfect,” admits Adrien. But the escapades and transphobic remarks of the billionaire got the better of the couple’s project.

“His name is associated with this brand, difficult to “separate the work from the artist”, let’s say. Personally, I don’t care what anyone thinks of me when they see me in the light of a Tesla. But I don’t want to “give” my money to this guy, that’s all.”

Félix

They finally gave up on electric. “For the moment, because no other brand currently offers a model that we particularly like,” explains Félix.

He is joined by Carmen. The young woman and her partner found out about the different electric cars. But the couple from Neuchâtel preferred to go with two small electric city cars rather than a Tesla. “Regardless of the price, it’s the fact that it has too much connotation for me,” says the marketing specialist.

“It’s a bit like the electric scooter, the iqos and the sleeveless down jacket. This is the panoply of the young dynamic executive. The Tesla is the same, except that it’s like sticking an “I love Elon” on your forehead… No thank you, I don’t drive for this idiot.”

Her partner, Felipe, who runs a construction company, is more nuanced. “I understand, but I don’t share this opinion. It’s like for Twitter, when Elon Musk bought the company to call it X and make it a social network where everyone can say anything and everything, everyone called for a boycott. In the end, almost everyone is still there…” And to emphasize that it is a little easy to boycott “when you don’t have the means!”.

“We could have afforded a Tesla, but for the short trips we both make, it was more relevant to have two small cars anyway. Afterwards, Carmen has a more marketing vision of the question, perhaps I don’t realize the connotation that a Tesla can have…”

And to specify that in any case, he does not find their shapes particularly aesthetic.

«Don’t touch to my Tesla »

These discussions and reflections in the style of “for or against Elon Musk?” make Michel laugh gently. The Genevan specifies that he is not a particular fan of the character, but does not care what the boss of Tesla says or thinks. “Whether we like the guy or not, that’s not the question. If owning one of your cars means that you endorse or validate certain of your whims… It should be applied everywhere in this case; let’s boycott Chinese products for example…”. In his eyes, this position is hypocritical:

“Doing a Tesla mean supporting Musk? Anything”

For him, it is “sterile debates, counter discussions”. “And under the pretext that he is crazy, unstable or whatever, we must prevent him from going into space with SpaceX, too? Without him, the conquest of space would still be stagnating,” asserts the Genevan.

“We would still be congratulating ourselves on having set foot on the Moon… more than 50 years ago.”

“He showed up with his rockets and really kicked the anthill. Once again, whether we love or hate Elon Musk, it doesn’t matter: he pushes all car manufacturers to renew themselves, to reinvent themselves,” concludes the engineer. Who will continue to drive a Tesla “and without a sticker to clear me of anything”.