Tesla's share price is skyrocketing. And in Denmark, the Model Y is still the most popular car to date. Still, some owners now want to get rid of their cars in protest.
Siri Sandvik, who is both a politician and child psychiatrist, has chosen to sell her Tesla as a protest against Elon Musk.
Sandvik, who is a member of the Norwegian Labor Party, justifies the sale by saying that she does not wish to be associated with Musk, who she believes has taken a more extreme political direction, especially with his support for Donald Trump.
– Elon Musk and Tesla are inextricably linked, and now he has taken some very extreme political positions. So we have decided that it is not something we want to be a part of, says Siri Sandvik to NRK .
Sandvik's decision comes in the wake of the American election, where Musk's support for Trump has created debate among Tesla owners.
Some choose to sell their cars, while others choose to put stickers on their cars with messages directed at Musk.
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Among other things, examples of slogans such as "Anti Elon Tesla Club" and "I bought this because Elon went crazy" have been seen.
According to the American media Inside EVs, it is mainly left-wing motorists in the US who use these stickers, as they feel embarrassed about owning a Tesla.
One of them is Mika Houston, a gym teacher from Las Vegas, who expresses ambivalence about her car:
– I still love my car. But I wonder if I am indirectly supporting such behavior when I condemn it. After the election, I feel embarrassed about singing it and think about the man behind it, she says to The Guardian.
Despite the protests, Tesla's sales continue to grow. In Denmark, between 1 January and 31 October this year, 13,653 models from the brand were sold. However, this is a decrease of several thousand cars compared to last year.
Meanwhile, Tesla is storming ahead in both Sweden and Norway. In the latter, the American brand has a whopping 18.5 percent of the market. And in Sweden, things are going well, even though Tesla is in open conflict with the country's trade unions.
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director at Cox Automotive, explains that Musk's public persona can have an effect on the brand's image, but that it is still unclear whether it affects sales to a large extent.
– Elon is Tesla. His views are polarizing, but we have yet to see any significant effect on sales. That can change, however, depending on which consumers he attracts or loses, she says.
The protests against Musk have also received political attention. Klassekampen's editor has pointed out that Norway's electric car policy has indirectly supported Musk. But it remains uncertain whether the opposition to him will have long-term consequences for Tesla.
