As oligarch Elon Musk continues to bulldoze entire sectors of the federal government via his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the backlash has taken a toll on automaker Tesla, which counts him as both CEO and de facto head of marketing. Protesters have targeted the business while denouncing Musk’s far-right ideology, and there are signs of weakness in the once-soaring stock. It’s gotten bad enough that on Tuesday, Donald Trump had his top advisor and megadonor show off Tesla models for a tacky photo-op in the White House driveway, where the president told Americans to support the company and pledged to buy a Model S himself.
But even some current Tesla owners appear to be unhappy with Musk at this moment, and may eventually take their business elsewhere. They’re expressing displeasure, or at least trying to protect their cars from the vandalism that a handful of drivers have reported, by “rebadging” the electric vehicles, replacing the Tesla emblem and other identifying text with the ornaments and names of other auto manufacturers. The models are still recognizable if you know what to look for, though at a passing glance, you might just assume you’re looking at, say, an Audi instead of a Tesla.
These badge modifications aren’t new per se — Tesla fans have long made modifications to the factory-imposed aesthetics of their cars. One might wish to replace the “T” symbol on the trunk with stylized letters spelling “Tesla,” or switching a chrome detail to a black one. The difference is, these changes tended to be customizations that still showed off the brand as a point of pride, whereas what drivers across the U.S. have noticed for the better part of a year now are Teslas traveling incognito, under a different corporate banner.
Keep your eyes peeled, and you might spot a white Model Y posing as a Subaru in Manhattan. Other Tesla drivers want you to think they’re in a Honda or a Mazda, two Japanese brands that have none of Musk’s toxic associations. Chevrolet is yet another option. Here and there you’ll notice a Tesla owner who has merely opted to remove the badges without installing anything in their place. YouTube offers no shortage of tutorials on the fairly simple process. In the comments on a how-to guide posted a month ago, one viewer wrote, “This is great for those of us who can’t stand Musk and what he has done to the brand.”
Amazingly, even owners of the Tesla Cybertruck, a huge, angular, and unmistakable vehicle, have attempted to rebrand their steel-paneled tanks — though in their case it seems like more of a self-deprecating joke than effective camouflage. Photos of a Cybertruck with “TOYOTA” printed on its tailgate have circulated online, as have images of a Cybertruck in Washington state that says “RIVIAN” on the back, professing an allegiance to an electric vehicle company that directly competes with Tesla and makes a popular pickup truck.
When the Rivian-branded Cybertruck showed up on a subreddit for the city where it was spotted, a couple claiming to be the owners chimed in to explain themselves. “This is my husband’s truck and he saved for five years for it,” the first redditor explained. “We bought it before shit started getting weird. We had another Tesla we sold but no one will buy the Cybertruck. We literally can’t get rid of it and we don’t have the money to eat it. We don’t agree with Elon. My husband voted proudly for Kamala. We did everything we could to at least get rid of the Tesla we could sell.”
Further down the thread, the husband wrote: “This is me … glad I could make some Folks chuckle. FYI — I ordered this in 2019 and picked it up in May 2024. Shortly after Elon went weird on us.” In another comment, he added, “No one was vandalizing teslas before the inauguration.” Cybertrucks, whose late 2023 release coincided with a time when Musk was growing increasingly extremist and conspiracy-minded, have indeed been hit hard in this respect. Pranksters this week put up fake street signs in New York instructing dog owners to deposit their pet’s waste in the nearest Cybertruck.
The owner further insisted that he was unlike other, obnoxious Tesla fans who went all in on the truck. “There’s a lot of Cybertruck people that drive me insane acting like it’s their whole identity,” he wrote. “Do I think Elon is cool? Na. He’s jumped the shark and has embarrassed me since last summer. I’m just a regular guy that likes cars that are a little different. When I first bought it … I knew it was polarizing based on the looks … but man Elon really fucked me on this thing.”
His effort to put an amusing spin on the buyer’s remorse is certainly a cut above the anti-Musk bumper stickers that have become internet bestsellers and now adorn many a Tesla — including Cybertrucks. But boycotts and figurative forms of resistance are hardly the company’s only problem. Tesla chargers, dealerships, and unsold cars parked on lots have been damaged in suspected arsons and vandalism campaigns. Over the weekend, several Cybertrucks at a Tesla center outside Seattle were spray-painted with swastikas, and one with the message “Fuck Elon.”
Trump has signaled as part of his fealty to Musk that he would take action against individuals alleged to have taken part in attacks on Tesla properties. As he play-acted at shopping for a Tesla at the White House on Tuesday, he said he would go as far as labeling them domestic terrorists, “because they’re harming a great American company.” While such a threat could deter a few though rabble-rousers, it also comes off as a little desperate — almost as desperate as trying to disguise your luxury car.
From Rolling Stone US
