Longtime Tesla owner in Sudbury, Ont., says he'll look at other brands for his next car because of Elon Musk
Tesla owner Elon Musk has become a divisive figure due to his close alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump
If Tesla owner Dann Kingsley were in the market for a new electric vehicle (EV) today, he says he would strongly consider other brands first.
"I don't love the owner of the company," he said about Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has only become more controversial since United States President Donald Trump started his second term.
"If I was doing the same deal again today, I'd really be stuck. I'd be a little bit more hard-pressed to stay with the brand because other brands — Polestar, Volvo — other companies are building good EVs."
When Kingsley bought his first Tesla Model 3 in 2018, representatives at Tesla told him he was the first person in Sudbury, Ont., to purchase the electric sedan.
He liked the car so much that in December 2024 he bought a newer model.
"I had six and a half great years with my first one," he said.
Kingsley said he completed the deal for his new Model 3 in November, two months before Trump's inauguration and the outsized role Musk has occupied in his government – leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has started to slash entire federal government programs without congressional oversight.
Kingsley says he understands if some people would rather not consider a Tesla because of Musk.
"He used to be our hero because he was pro-environment, and he was selling cars to, let's call them the lefties, that are sort of climate-oriented," he said.
"And now all of a sudden he's aligned himself with the far right in the U.S. People that care less about the environment. They think it's a hoax."
On social media, some Tesla owners have made a show of selling their cars for ideological reasons.
Musician Sheryl Crow sold her Tesla and donated the proceeds to National Public Radio (NPR), a public broadcaster Musk has threatened recently.
"There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with," she said. "So long Tesla."
Tesla sales have also been down in Europe and Canada, although the Canadian slump also coincides with a general drop in EV sales due the disappearance of federal EV rebates – which ended ahead of schedule because of high demand.
But despite controversy around Musk, Kingsley says it hasn't changed the way people perceive him and his car when he's driving it around town.
"Do I get a stare in traffic? No, not once, not ever," he said.
"No one has given me the eye. I've not gotten out of my car at Costco and been stared down or looked at."