Australian Tesla owners are distancing themselves from the electric vehicle company due to its founder, Elon Musk’s, association with extreme right-wing politics. Some owners are even offloading their Tesla cars or using bumper stickers to dissociate themselves from Musk, who has been reportedly aligning himself with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Sales data from February, following Musk’s controversial fascist salute at Trump’s inauguration rally, showed a sharp decline in Tesla vehicle purchases compared to the same period in the previous year. Tesla Model 3 sales fell by 81%, indicating a significant impact on the company’s sales in the Australian market.

The decline in Tesla’s popularity comes at a time when there is a market trend away from pure battery electric vehicles and towards hybrid vehicles. Additionally, there is increased competition from more affordable electric cars from China, and overall car sales in Australia have also dropped.

Tesla’s sales struggles in Australia seem to be larger than those faced by competitors and coincide with the start of Donald Trump’s second administration. Musk has recently taken on a role as head of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) and has faced criticism over significant cuts to global aid programs and efforts to target diversity standards in the U.S.

Internationally, there has been a growing trend of Tesla owners looking to sell their vehicles, possibly due to disappointment with the company’s changing image. Tesla sales have increased slightly in the UK, but have almost halved in Europe.

Despite the trend of distancing themselves, not all Tesla owners demonstrate a desire to disassociate from the brand or Musk. Some Australian owners have taken to using bumpers stickers with anti-Musk slogans, like “I BOUGHT THIS BEFORE ELON WENT CRAZY.”

Matthew Hiller, the owner of an online sticker business called Mad Puffer Stickers, claims to have seen a substantial increase in demand for these sort of stickers since the recent elections and even more so following the salute incident. Hiller’s business has experienced a daily average of over 500 orders, with a significant international client base.

The dissatisfaction with Musk’s actions is notably affecting Tesla owners in regions outside the U.S. as well. In Sydney, a local Tesla owner, who requested anonymity, recently traded in his vehicle for a different electric car due to his frustration with Musk. He reported that he was at least the third person to return a Tesla to a particular dealership with a similar reason that day, indicating a growing trend of discontent among Tesla owners.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/06/australian-tesla-sales-plummet-elon-musk