Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly announced in a video posted to his social media account that he is giving up his Tesla, citing “asshole” behavior by Donald Trump megadonor Elon Musk, the multibillionaire Tesla CEO who also heads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Kelly said that Friday was his last day driving to the Capitol in his Tesla Model S, which he bought a few years ago. The senator said when he originally bought the car he didn’t think it would become a political issue, but “every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country.”
“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole, and I don’t want to be driving a car built and designed by an asshole,” he concluded.
The Democratic senator’s move stands in sharp contrast to Trump and his most loyal Republican toadies, who have completely wedded themselves to the financially ailing electric car company owned by Musk.
After nationwide protests at Tesla dealerships and showrooms and whining about those protests from Musk, Trump announced that he would purchase one of the cars. He then proceeded to use the publicly owned White House lawn for a sales pitch for Tesla cars, even reading from sales notes touting the car’s purported benefits.
Musk and DOGE have launched a series of attacks on key government agencies, creating a growing backlash against Tesla. The electric vehicle company’s stock price has dropped by nearly half in the past six months as Musk has entrenched himself in Trump’s “MAGA” brand of politics.
Continued association with Trump and Musk, who have lost ground in public support in recent weeks, is unlikely to help the company—which was already bailed out once by the Obama administration, by the way.
Kelly isn’t alone in ditching his Tesla. People across the country are getting rid of theirs and posting on social media platforms about how great it feels not to be driving a “swasticar” anymore.
Pop singer Sheryl Crow announced in February that she got rid of her Tesla and donated the money to National Public Radio, “which is under threat by President Musk.”
Similarly, Cassandra Peterson—better known as the television personality Elvira, Mistress of the Dark—donated her car to NPR.
“I don’t want to drive something around that represents a person who is directly trying to take away our freedoms,” she told The Oregonian.
Kelly’s decision to dump his Tesla comes just a few days after Musk accused the widely respected senator of being a “traitor” for expressing his support for Ukraine’s independence from Russia.
“Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do,” Kelly responded.
Kelly is a former Navy captain who served on multiple combat missions in the first Gulf War. He went on to become a NASA astronaut and flew on board four space shuttle missions, including two where he served as shuttle commander.
The senator is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot and severely injured in a mass shooting while she was meeting constituents outside an Arizona grocery store in 2011. Kelly and Giffords have fiercely advocated for gun safety, with Kelly later successfully running for the Senate seat he has held since 2021.
Meanwhile, Musk poses with chainsaws, disowns and neglects some of his 14 children with four different women, attacks the federal government, and loves racism.
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