Sorry, Elon, But “Conservatives” Will Not Pull Your Feet Out Of The Fire

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Last Updated on: 19th March 2025, 12:25 am

A recent article here at CleanTechnica (written by an author I respect and like, to be clear) got a reaction from Elon Musk. Elon used to follow us on Twitter, and we used to get reactions to our content all the time, but when he started veering to the hard right, disagreements over his handling of LGBT issues led to him unfollowing and later sending hordes of flying monkeys to discredit us. These days, it’s very unusual for him to like anything we write.

The reason he liked the article was for the same reason he used to like our articles: it was favorable to him. Like all narcissists, Elon Musk can’t handle criticism and disagreement. I figured this out earlier than most writers here when I saw the signs of narcissism and abusiveness in late 2019, but that’s only because I’m a woman who has been in a relationship with a narcissistic, abusive man and knew what to look for. As it became apparent what we were dealing with, attitudes and coverage by other writers changed and some who couldn’t handle the truth left.

Specifically, Elon loved the article (or at least clicked a heart about it) because it raised hopes that conservatives were going to bail Tesla out.

The Bad Spot Tesla Is In

Electric vehicles have long been favored by people buying them for environmental reasons, and this is uncommon among conservatives and their further right allies. With Elon Musk going all in on supporting the Trump Regime and leading efforts that several judges have found to be unlawfully dismantling the government, liberals and lefties are rightfully pissed off. In an attempt to knock Elon Musk out of the game, some of them are protesting at Tesla retail locations. Some people (who may or may not be among the protesters, we don’t know for sure) are coming back after dark to graffiti walls, set Teslas on fire, and even do drive-by shootings.

EVs aren’t just for “libs” though. The tire-shredding torque, the fact that Teslas are made in America, and the ability to contribute to American energy independence are all great conservative selling points. With Elon joining MAGA and shredding the federal government apart, that’s just more upside for conservatives to buy.

While interest is definitely up, the increase in sales to conservatives are minuscule compared to losses in the left-leaning customer base. With steep declines in Tesla sales amid all of this bad press, the stock has declined precipitously. Cars are stacking up in unguarded storage lots, which have been easy targets for further vandalism.

Elon Musk’s net worth and the value of his assets are falling, which reduces his ability to borrow money and continue working full-time for the Trump Regime. So, Trump recently tried to bail him out by holding a Tesla infomercial at the White House. As the article pointed out, conservative celebrities (bad plastic surgery and makeup and all) have been showing their Teslas off. Search engine interest has taken off, too.

What The Article Didn’t Get Right About Elon and Trump’s Situation

There were a couple of claims based on bad data that the article relied on.

First, Elon Musk and Donald Trump are not popular figures. There are a few bad polls that can be misinterpreted to come to the conclusion that everything is fine in Magatland, but Gallup polling tells a very different story. At this point in a presidential term, presidents average about 61% support, and U.S. presidents average 52% overall. Donald Trump is doing slightly better than he did during this point of his first term (he’s at 45% approval, compared to 42% in 2017), but he’s definitely approved of by a minority and is below average overall. To call him “popular” would be inaccurate at best.

More specifically to Elon and his fake DOGE agency, Americans approve even less. The latest polling from Quinnipiac University (a school not known for biased polls) showed that 54% of respondents agreed that DOGE is doing “more damage than good.” Only 36% support the massive cuts to federal jobs. Like the Gallup polling, Quinnipiac found that Trump was disapproved of by a small majority.

Finally, I think it’s very much debatable that Tesla makes the best EVs. This largely boils down to taste, but there are a growing number of EV models that have better specifications (including 800-volt architectures) and a comparable or better driving experience compared to Tesla’s vehicles. These other brands have access to much of Tesla’s Supercharger network, so that advantage isn’t a thing anymore. While there’s no way to quantify taste and style, holding out Tesla’s EVs is an opinion and not a fact in 2025.

With declining support for Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Trump administration, getting conservatives on board isn’t a slam dunk for saving the company. 

What Can Actually Save Tesla

While I don’t like Tesla’s design language and I have serious disagreements with the CEO, I don’t personally hope that the company goes under. I’d really like to see it succeed in the future and keep pushing the auto industry to keep going electric.

But I don’t see how that can happen with Elon Musk at the helm. There are certain things a person can do to permanently turn people off to having anything to do with them. For me, Elon Musk has repeatedly crossed that line. I have family members in the LGBT community who have been attacked by Trump with Elon’s aid, and I’m personally concerned for my own safety and rights as an intersex person caught in the crossfire. I have family in Mexico, and I can see the racism in the actions of the Trump administration. I’m deeply concerned that Elon Musk and Donald Trump are aiding authoritarian regimes around the world, and are abandoning allies globally. One place that’s special to me because I lived there is Taiwan.

For my own sanity, I’ll need to forgive Elon and Trump when they’re no longer in power and have stopped wrecking things I care about. But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever trust either of those scoundrels again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

Looking at polls and sentiment on the internet, I’m far from the only person who feels this way. Some people who voted for Trump regret it because either themselves or family members lost their jobs. Non-criminal undocumented immigrants have been deported, despite having lived in the U.S. for decades and being married to citizens. One citizen child recovering from brain cancer was reportedly deported because her parents were here against the rules. You can’t build up that kind of ill will and expect people to want to do business with you!

If Tesla is going to make it, Elon has to go. He needs to resign from his position and sell enough stock to not control the company. Only then are people going to stop associating the company with him. Products will likely improve with professional adults without OCD and other mental disorders running the show. Elon can then go invest in other things that don’t make him vulnerable to activists if he’s smart at all.

Featured image: a screenshot from Google Stocks.