Dear liberal, progressive friends,
I’ve canvassed with you. I’ve gone to hundreds of rallies, protests, and marches. I’ve phone banked and knocked on so many doors I can’t count them all. I’ve been right with you for the past 8 years—attending weekly meetings, commenting on state bills, going to town halls, and getting petitions signed. Shall I continue? The point is that YOU NEED ME. If we are going to wrestle our country back from the throes of a horrible dictator and his unelected sidekick, we need all the voices we can get. You need super activists like me so . . . stop f*&cking it up.
I hate Elon Musk, probably more than you do. When I ordered my Tesla Model 3 almost 7 years ago, I was thrilled to be getting a car that was better for the planet. Did I mention I’m also a climate activist? Actually, a hell of a lot of Tesla owners are/were liberals. I thought Elon Musk had a vision back then. I was duped; I readily admit it. Today, I would never buy a Tesla, and despite the monetary goodies Tesla dangles in front of owners to refer someone to buy a Tesla, I would not do it. Friends don’t let friends buy Teslas. Back when I got mine, there wasn’t that much available on the market. There is now. I mean, have you SEEN that gorgeous electric Subaru Forester?
I take my boycotting seriously and I try to support companies I believe in. We can only do our best. But should this extend to trashing an expensive car that I saved for and gave up other things so I could buy? Should a person give away a product if later it is discovered that the manufacturer has questionable affiliations? And what about music? Should you stop listening to, for instance, Michael Jackson who was likely a pedophile?
Let’s stay with cars for a minute. Henry Ford was a raging antisemite. BMW was a darling of Hitler, and he thought up Volkswagen. Ferdinand Porsche was a member of the Nazi party, and Enzo Ferrari was a liar and a cheat. How about other companies, like Home Depot? They give money to and support Trump and Project 2025. So does Home Goods (that one hurts). Amazon is super problematic. Do you refuse to buy anything associated with them? Like Whole Foods? How about products from China—a country that regularly engages in human rights violations. And then there are all the cosmetic companies that test on animals. Do you have a gas-powered car? You do realize that petroleum companies are destroying the planet, right?
My point is not to trash boycotts. I believe in their power and as a consumer, I exercise that power. And now on to Elon Musk. I detest him. He has made it difficult to drive my car without being flipped off, honked at, or glared at. Still. I encourage actions that tank the stocks and could result in my local service center closing, which is clearly against my self-interests. Those folks who work there are super nice people, by the way. Despite my sassy magnets that tell the world exactly what I think of the evil, despicable, cruel, crazy CEO of the company that manufactured my Tesla, I still get harsh comments. A neighbor told me that everyone could pay me a couple dollars for the privilege of taking a sledgehammer to my car. Another woman told me that she didn’t care if I could afford another car or not, I needed to get rid of it. Another person was adamant that if Sheryl Crow and Senator Mark Kelly (my senator, by the way) could get rid of their Teslas, so could I.
So, to all my liberal friends with their comments about my 6-year-old Tesla: I promise not to come inside your house and point out all the products that YOU should get rid of because of questionable affiliations. I would never key, vandalize, or otherwise destroy your property (as a couple gals at a recent rally discussed doing). Be careful before you act on those impulses. The Tesla you destroy may be owned by a progressive liberal that is working to save the country. And let me clue you in to a little tip: Telsas have amazing sentry cameras, and you will be videotaped. I will not hesitate to bring charges, but you know what I will hesitate to do? Participate in future rallies and other events. Please stop with the hate and direct it at the correct person. That’s Elon Musk, and not us owners—at least not those of us who bought our cars years before the world figured out that Elon Musk wasn’t anything like Ironman.
You need us.