Tesla owners have “rebranded” their vehicles in an effort to avoid vandalism due to Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration.
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In a post on the sub-Reddit “Mildly Interesting,” photos of Tesla vehicles feature other car brand names. One Cybertruck has the Toyota logo on the back. Other pictures feature Model 3 cars with Honda and Audi logos as well.
Of course, the Reddit community has some thoughts about the “rebranding” tactic.
“F— people who think everyone driving a Tesla is a Nazi,” one Reddit user stated. “I’m old enough to remember last week when everyone had to buy an EV or you hate the environment.”
Another Reddit user then declared, “Elon Musk is an a—hole. Just like anyone who vandalizes innocent people’s property. Edit: (no, I’m not referring to this Toyota logo).”
The increase in distain towards Musk occurred just after the billionaire made a hand gesture, which was compared to one infamously used by Nazis, during President Trump’s inauguration.
“This one really mattered,” he stated about the election. “And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you.”
Musk then placed his hand over his heart before extending his arm upward. He repeated the gesture while looking at those sitting behind him.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk declared.
Elon Musk Addresses the Backlash His Hand Gesture Received By Using Nazi Puns
A little over a month after his hand gesture made headlines, Elon Musk decided to respond to the backlash he received by using Nazi puns.
While appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Musk stated he did “not see” the backlash coming. He put “not” and “see” together to sound like “Nazi.”
He also stated that people will “Goebbels anything down,” referring to German Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
Rogan responded to Musk’s remarks by defending his hand gesture. “There’s so many examples of people saying, ‘My heart goes out to’ while motioning a similar gesture,” the podcast’s host said. “You did it with a little enthusiasm that probably be recommended with hindsight.”
Musk agreed, adding, “It was obviously meant in the most positive spirit possible.”
Musk later posted the interview and clarified that he is not a Nazi. “Hopefully people will realize I’m not a Nazi. You can’t escape this bulls—. What is bad about Nazis, it wasn’t their fashion sense or their mannerisms, it was the war and genocide is the bad part. Not the mannerisms and their dress code.”