Tesla owners have expressed their distaste at Elon Musk’s recent actions, including an alleged Nazi salute at President Trump’s inauguration, with many claiming they’ll never buy another car from the company.

Elon Musk‘s abrasive actions appear to have had an effect that stretches beyond his own reputation, as customers of one of his biggest companies have been left angered and dissatisfied with their purchases.

Tesla appears to be in a bit of a tough spot amid reports of sales declines and significant drops in value, as the electric car company is suffering due to the reputation of its CEO.

Musk has become a close ally of President Donald Trump in the last year, supporting him extensively throughout the election campaign and after he emerged victorious last November.

Despite consumer pushback, the process of aligning with Trump has been very lucrative for Musk himself, as his net worth increased exponentially following the election result and Tesla also saw a big market cap increase due to predictions of relaxed regulations that would make the vehicle manufacturer an even stronger player in the industry.

Musk’s recent actions, including an alleged Nazi salute, have soured Tesla for many customers (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

However, things seem to have really reached breaking point for many Tesla owners following Musk’s actions at the inauguration on January 20, as the billionaire has been accused of repeatedly using a Nazi salute while on stage.

Musk himself has seemingly pushed back against these accusations, but the damage already appears to be done for many Tesla owners.

Comments across social media and Reddit show how people’s distaste of Musk is affecting their relationship with their Tesla vehicles. Many have claimed that while they feel ‘stuck’ with their current vehicle, they “won’t be buying another Tesla” from now on.

This is due to the loss than many owners would need to stomach if they did desire to sell their Tesla in favor of another EV, but it could spell danger long-term for the company.

One user has even gone as far to argue that Tesla “would be wise to fire Musk at this point,” continuing on to state that “they’re beyond the visionary stage anyway and Musk is a VERY expensive CEO to keep around. JFC just fire him.”

Another user has chimed in with agreement, pointing out: “It’s just a bad look. I’m sure employees are furious. I mean I would be if I was [an] employee there.” They also expressed the fears they hold as a Tesla owner, outlining: “I’m worried about if Tesla owners are becoming targets. Everyone be safe and park your Tesla in the garage if you can at night.”

Many are struggling to separate Musk from the company that he remains CEO of (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

Some have offered the other side of the coin, arguing that you should separate Musk’s actions from Tesla as a company – especially considering some of the other big names in tech that were also present at the inauguration.

“Jeff Bezos was there. Zuckerberg was there. Tim Cook was there. All donated millions to the inauguration… I loathe Musk and everything he stands for as a person. But Tesla has 140K employees and only one of them is Elon Musk.

The product is excellent as a result of the hard work of those engineers and innovators who made EVs mainstream, which is a cause I believe in heavily.”

It’s then up to you as to whether you can feasibly distinguish between Tesla as a car company and Musk’s political views, but it’s understandable that many are finding the lines too blurred to continue their support.

One YouTuber has detailed how owning his Cybertruck has actually saved him thousands every year compared to a ‘standard’ pickup truck, and the results are hard to ignore.

Tesla‘s Cybertruck hasn’t exactly had the best reception following it’s 2023 release, receiving a number of negative reviews that point out ‘terrifying’ features that many consider to be dangerous.

Some have even ditched their Tesla trucks for old petrol cars due to the effects of colder weather, but the unique vehicle still has legions of fans behind its back – including one YouTuber who outlines quite an intriguing proposition.

After reaching the 10,000 mile mark with his Cybertruck, Devon Loerop has outlined exactly how much the process cost him across the course of a year – comparing it specifically to internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents like the Ford F-150 Raptor.

Surprisingly, the Cybertruck not only comes out on top when it comes to cost both in the short and long-term, but it’s not even a competition!

Based on a case study of around 30,000 miles per year, Loerop estimates that the energy costs of the Cybertruck would total around $1,476 – working on the notion of around 100 charges at $0.12 per Kwh, which is the average price in his native state of Washington.

This cost would increase by quite a bit if you were to only charge on the road at superchargers, but for most Tesla drivers charging exclusively at home is a more viable circumstance.

You can even get it cheaper too, as Loerop himself only pays around $600 per year due to the lower cost at his apartment block, and some staggering stories have managed to get the cost down to mere single digits too.

The F-150 Raptor doesn’t come out nearly as favorably either, as the estimated 1,875 gallons of fuel needed at $4.50/gallon would set you back a staggering $8,424 for the year, and you’d also have to add on $450 for three oil changes.

He explains that one of the biggest benefits of Tesla cars is that they rarely (if ever) require servicing, whereas their ICE-equivalents need yearly oil changes and other adjustments. The flip side is that if your Tesla ever needed repairs then you’re going to pay a far higher cost – especially as you can rarely repair it yourself.

This is something that many second-hand Tesla buyers have found out too, as it can actually end up being cheaper to buy new due to the number of repairs that you can find in an older car.

You will end up paying around $1,000 more per-year with the Cybertruck compared to an F-150 Rapor, but the real killer blow is found when you see the ten-year cost estimate.

The decade-long cost for a Cybertruck is significantly lower than an F-150 Raptor (YouTube/Devon Loerop)

Accounting for the purchase price, electricity, and insurance, you’ll end up paying around $183,016 across ten years for the Cybertruck. This decade-long investment is increased by over $50,000 when jumping over to an F-150 Raptor, as that’ll set you back $237,476.

It goes to show that the Cybertruck might have the edge across a decade if you’re looking at things from a purely monetary perspective, so it’s definitely something to consider if you’re looking to pick up your next pickup for the long haul.

You only have to look at Tesla’s Cybertruck to realize it’s a beast of the automotive world.

Although the Cybertruck got an impressive price cut toward the end of 2024 due to slumping sales, the fact you’re paying $80,000 for the base all-wheel-drive model means it’s not exactly a cheap runaround.

Still, if your Cybertruck could double up as a car and a home, you can kill two birds with one stone.

We already covered the Cybertruck owner who hammered his vehicle and lived in it while he drove it 500,000 miles and even journeyed the Arctic Ocean.

While it looked fine as a temporary solution to provide shelter, it doesn’t exactly seem like a long-term solution to standard accommodation.

The Cybertruck already has its own official camp mode from Tesla (Tesla)

Now, YouTuber PeterMC put the Cybertruck through its paces and attempted to show whether you can comfortably live in one for 24 hours.

As he notes, the Cybertruck is electric AND has its camp mode, meaning it’s already got plenty of features that bring it closer to being a mobile home than your typical car.

PeterMC famously lived in his Tesla Model 3 for seven days, so this one should be a piece of cake.

He noted that the bed of the Cybertruck is bigger than some trucks, while there are three power outlets for you to plug in all your must-have appliances.

Although most of you wouldn’t try this, the first thing PeterMc did was throw a tarp down in the trunk and turn it into a mini pool for bathing in.

Obviously, we wouldn’t recommend filling an electric car with water.

On a more serious note, he said he loves the ‘Cyberpunk’ of the Cybertruck and hopes to own one of his own one day instead of renting one for a YouTube video.

Getting into the actual testing, he plugged in the Cybertruck because it was low on charge, attached a space heater, and then hunkered down for the evening.

Cooking burgers and rolling out a mattress in the trunk, he put on his heater and managed to get a good night’s sleep – albeit setting off the car’s alarm when he exited the bed.

In the end, PeterMC concluded that you probably could live in a Cybertruck, although we’d do it a little more conventionally than him.

Responding to the video, someone else said: “Stealth camping in the bed of the truck is crazy 😂 looks like you had fun with this one tho.”

While an entertaining video, not everyone was convinced. Someone else concluded:

“Theoretically the best car to live in? Like… why? It literally has one of the lowest space to size ratios of any car. Any old delivery van clears a Cybertruck in usable living space on top of being square, which is kind of a good shape to be if you’re trying to build a mini house.”

Of course, he didn’t use it in the typical camp mode that Tesla intends owners to use when roughing it in the wilderness. Shush, don’t tell Elon Musk.

Elon Musk might just be at the heart of why Tesla has dropped value in the last year, as the public persona of the company’s CEO appears to have had a negative effect beyond his own reputation.

While Elon Musk has remained a prominent figure for over a decade now, he’s catapulted himself into the spotlight in the past year especially. Not only has he become by far the richest individual in the world with a net worth that nearly doubles the next highest on the list, but he has also made a major push into US politics.

He has closely allied himself with President Donald Trump, and has been rewarded with a position at the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but these actions haven’t exactly nurtured his image worldwide.

There have been multiple exoduses from Twitter, now X, since Musk purchased it for $44,000,000,000 back in 2022 – most of which are due to the billionaire’s increasingly far right views that populate the platform.

This appears to have bled into his other businesses too, as Tesla has recently reported another drop in brand value after seeing the same occur from 2023 to 2024.

Tesla’s value continues to drop, and Elon Musk might be at the heart of it all (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

However, while the year-on-year decline at the start of 2024 was only around $7.9 billion, this figure nearly doubles to $15.3 billion if you compare the start of 2024 to 2025.

This also marks a two-year decline of around $23.2 billion, which is worrying for the electric vehicle manufacturer despite remaining one of the most valuable companies in the entire world.

While some might point towards repeated recalls or the disappointing Cybertruck release for this decline, experts indicate that CEO Elon Musk is actually at the heart of why Tesla’s value has dropped so significantly.

Recent actions like an alleged Nazi gesture and targeted harassments of foreign government officials are among many of the actions that have soured both Musk and Tesla’s image globally, and it appears to be stopping many from buying the company’s cars.

Brand Finance CEO David Haigh explains in reference to Musk’s current reputation: “There are people who think he’s wonderful, but many that don’t. If you are buying electric vehicles, his persona is highly likely to impact your view of whether or not you want to buy one of his company’s cars, but that’s only one of many factors.”

There’s certainly no shortage of EV options on the market now, and even some of the biggest tech creators are making the jump to non-Tesla brands.

Based on a survey by Brand Finance, which collected data on Tesla from over 16,000 participants, the company’s ‘consideration’ score – measuring how likely people would be to buy from a brand – dropped by 16% down to just 21% between 2024 and 2025.