When Australian Dick Friend bought a Tesla in 2015 he was so impressed with its environmental credentials and performance that he and his wife bought two more of the electric vehicles (EVs) plus shares in the Elon Musk-led company.
Now, however, he is selling his Tesla stock and will not replace one of his cars, wrecked in an accident last year, citing his objections to Musk's right-wing tilt and his growing role in the administration of President Donald Trump.
“The cars are brilliant but we don't like the direction of the owner and we're voting with our feet,” said Friend, who splits time between homes in Hobart and Melbourne.
Tesla sales in the four months since Trump's election were down 35% compared with the same time last year, according to data from Australia's electric vehicle council, with a spate of vandalism in Australia and New Zealand over the past week adding to evidence of contagion from Musk's role in the Trump administration.
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla sales in the country were already down slightly before Trump's victory, with total sales in 2024 17% lower than a year earlier, in line with weaker sales globally.
Sales in Europe have also fallen amid Musk's support for far-right parties, Reuters reported last week.
Trump said on Tuesday violence against Tesla dealerships in the US would be labelled domestic terrorism as he appeared with Musk at the White House to select a new Tesla for his staff to use.
In the Australian state of Tasmania, a Tesla dealership was vandalised last week, with graffiti calling Musk a Nazi.
A spokesperson for Tasmania's state police said the force was aware of the incident and was seeking further information.
In a Facebook group for Tesla owners in Australia, several posters said their cars had been vandalised in recent months.
“We’ve had our Tesla Model Y for two-and-a-half years and over the past six months we’ve experienced increasing hostility on the roads,” one poster said, adding she planned to sell her car as she no longer felt safe.
In neighbouring New Zealand, police said on Wednesday a 52-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with multiple vandalised Teslas in Auckland.
Declines in Tesla sales in New Zealand over the past year mirror those of the EV sector more broadly, according to data from the Motor Industry of New Zealand, after the removal of government subsides.
Teslas vandalised in Australia and New Zealand due to anti-Musk sentiment
Image: Reuters
When Australian Dick Friend bought a Tesla in 2015 he was so impressed with its environmental credentials and performance that he and his wife bought two more of the electric vehicles (EVs) plus shares in the Elon Musk-led company.
Now, however, he is selling his Tesla stock and will not replace one of his cars, wrecked in an accident last year, citing his objections to Musk's right-wing tilt and his growing role in the administration of President Donald Trump.
“The cars are brilliant but we don't like the direction of the owner and we're voting with our feet,” said Friend, who splits time between homes in Hobart and Melbourne.
Tesla sales in the four months since Trump's election were down 35% compared with the same time last year, according to data from Australia's electric vehicle council, with a spate of vandalism in Australia and New Zealand over the past week adding to evidence of contagion from Musk's role in the Trump administration.
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla sales in the country were already down slightly before Trump's victory, with total sales in 2024 17% lower than a year earlier, in line with weaker sales globally.
Sales in Europe have also fallen amid Musk's support for far-right parties, Reuters reported last week.
Trump said on Tuesday violence against Tesla dealerships in the US would be labelled domestic terrorism as he appeared with Musk at the White House to select a new Tesla for his staff to use.
In the Australian state of Tasmania, a Tesla dealership was vandalised last week, with graffiti calling Musk a Nazi.
A spokesperson for Tasmania's state police said the force was aware of the incident and was seeking further information.
In a Facebook group for Tesla owners in Australia, several posters said their cars had been vandalised in recent months.
“We’ve had our Tesla Model Y for two-and-a-half years and over the past six months we’ve experienced increasing hostility on the roads,” one poster said, adding she planned to sell her car as she no longer felt safe.
In neighbouring New Zealand, police said on Wednesday a 52-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with multiple vandalised Teslas in Auckland.
Declines in Tesla sales in New Zealand over the past year mirror those of the EV sector more broadly, according to data from the Motor Industry of New Zealand, after the removal of government subsides.
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