The Tesla drivers vilified for supporting Elon Musk: How motorists are eliminating their £44k motors, receiving demise threats and being relentlessly mocked as backlash in the direction of its billionaire founder grows
- Have YOU experienced backlash for owning a Tesla? Email freya.barnes@mailonline.co.uk
Tesla drivers are getting rid of their cars, receiving death threats and being laughed at in the street as backlash towards its billionaire owner, and now Trump’s most influential advisor, grows.
After Trump won the US presidential election in November, he announced South African-born Musk would head a new cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency – also known as DOGE.
Public opinion of Musk has plummeted since he seemed to perform a Nazi salute while addressing a crowd of Trump supporters last month at a post-inauguration event and other controversial moves such as showing support for Germany‘s far-right AfD party.
Newly-released figures this week showed Tesla sales in Britain and Europe have dropped by 45 per cent.
Now, people are taking their hatred for the tech tycoon out on Tesla owners in the street.
Mitchell Feldman, 53, bought his first Tesla – a £44k Model Y – in 2022 after falling in love with the technology and safety features.
Marketing firm owner and father-of-two Mr Feldman said he would get the odd comment about being a Tesla driver but nothing out of the ordinary.
Mitchell Feldman, 53, bought his first Tesla – a £44k Model Y – in 2022 after falling in love with the technology and safety features
Doug Frost was once a big admirer of Mr Musk, but says his family life and friendship with Mr Trump have altered his opinion of the businessman in recent years
Fellow Tesla driver Khalid Hamaida, also charging his car in Heston, signed a three-year lease on his vehicle in June – but says that had he known what Mr Musk would go on to do and say, he would have looked for another EV option instead
But he has recently received a ton of emails through his company website threatening him and his family.
Two weeks ago, he was in a carpark when a man walked up to him, laughed in his face, and asked if he ‘supported Elon’ by driving a Tesla.
Despite the barrage of comments, Mr Feldman said his support for Tesla remains ‘steadfast’ and is planning on putting in an order for a new Model Y.
Mr Feldman, from north west London, said: ‘I have had everything from quite severe hate mail, people saying that when they find me they will kill me and my family in front of me.
‘I’ve had a number of people saying that I’m brave, that I am saying what everyone else is thinking.
‘But I have been completely shocked by the reaction I have received.
‘There’s a massive polarization in views, there are those that admire Elon Musk, and there are those that don’t.
‘There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground, it is very binary.’
Mr Feldman used to drive an Aston Martin DB11sports car before switching to Tesla in March 2022.
Speaking about why he can no longer keep his Tesla, he told the BBC: ‘I’m not a fan of polarisation, or of doing things without kindness’
President Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk deliver remarks next to a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington
Mr Feldman said he has received a ton of emails through his company website threatening him and his family
He said: ‘The thing that drove me to Tesla was the technology.
‘It was the technology and the safety aspects of the vehicle that was a massive appeal to me at the time.
‘I had a sports car before, which didn’t have native integration into my phone.
It didn’t have a touch screen, it wasn’t intuitive, and Tesla, I like the look of it.
‘The appeal was the technology, and I am a technologist, so there was that appeal of having that association with Elon Musk.’
Initially, the comments he would receive were ‘no surprise you’ve got a Tesla being a geek’ but nothing out of the ordinary.
But attitudes changed after Musk became heavily involved in US politics.
‘I knew there was a discourse around the work he had been involved in with DOGE but I never realised that people associated the art with the artist,’ he said.
On March 6, 2025, Mr Feldman was at a Teddy Swims concert in Wembley when he parked his Tesla in the car park.
He said he could see a young man pointing at him and laughing which made him feel ‘violated’.
Mr Feldman said: ‘I parked outside the parking metre, as I pulled up, there was a youngish guy with his partner, and daughter laughing and pointing at me.
‘When I got out of the car, he came up to be quite abrasive and said “I presume you support Elon Musk driving one of those”.
He then wrote a post about his experience on LinkedIn where he received more backlash and death threats as a result.
Despite the hate he has received, Mr Feldman has no intentions of getting rid of his Tesla and is planning on ordering the new Model Y.
He said: ‘I am waiting for a phone call from Elon Musk to say thank you for the post and here is a free Cyber Truck.
‘If anything, it has made me more steadfast in my support.’
Elsewhere, another Tesla owner has vowed to get rid of his Model Y because of Musk’s actions.
Mr Musk has faced criticism over a gesture he gave at a pro-Donald Trump rally in Washington DC on January 20 this year following the US president’s inauguration
And there were signs at Tesla ‘supercharger’ top-up spots in the capital that even long-time Tesla fans were giving the brand a rethink due to Mr Musk’s antics – while there have also been rallied in the US urging people to give up their Teslas
Ben Kilbey is a big advocate for electric cars and runs a communications company which promotes sustainable businesses in the UK.
Speaking about why he can no longer keep his Tesla, he told the BBC: ‘I’m not a fan of polarisation, or of doing things without kindness.
‘There are ways of doing things that don’t ostracise people or belittle them. I don’t like belittlement.’
It comes as other Tesla drivers charging their cars in London described Musk as having ‘lost the plot’ and said they would not buy another Tesla.
Doug Frost was once a big admirer of Mr Musk, but says his family life and friendship with Mr Trump have altered his opinion of the businessman in recent years.
When asked whether Mr Musk’s recent actions had made him reconsider wanting to drive a Tesla, semi-retired Mr Frost replied: ‘Yes.’
Speaking while charging his car off the A4 in Heston, near Heathrow in west London, he told MailOnline: ‘I am a nine-year Tesla owner. I got one partly to help the planet and partly because I like gadgets.
‘I’ve read Musk’s biography – it paints a very strong picture of a guy with an unusual background who’s a near-genius.
‘He was always on the cusp of bankruptcy. He’s a pretty impressive guy. He has a phenomenal ability to envision the future beyond what most people can do.
‘But it also described a long range of character traits which made me think I would want to stay a long way away from him – as he’s got older, I think he’s completely lost the plot.
‘I think he has thought that his technical, scientific, engineering skills can translate into a social environment – where they can’t.
Fellow Tesla driver Khalid Hamaida, also charging his car in Heston, signed a three-year lease on his vehicle in June – but says that had he known what Mr Musk would go on to do and say, he would have looked for another EV option instead.
Residential surveyor Mr Hamaida, 46, said: ‘If it was today, I probably wouldn’t have got a Tesla on lease.
‘I just think the way he is at the moment – it’s scary and it’s going too far, both here and abroad.
‘When I saw the other day about the reduction in Tesla sales across Europe, it made me chuckle – I thought, “It serves you right”. It puts a smile on my face.’
Father-of-two Mr Hamaida, from Ealing in west London, admitted his new thoughts were ‘tricky’ as he still has two years on his lease.
But when questioned on whether he would still get a Tesla if looking for a car now, he added: ‘I would still get an electric car, I would just look at different options.
