North Bay Tesla owners express disdain for Musk's role in Trump administration through bumper stickers
Tesla owners in a North Bay town are expressing their disdain for Elon Musk and his role in the Trump administration with bumper stickers and more.
When Mill Valley resident David Lown takes his now 'modified' Tesla Model 3 for a spin, he wants others on the road to see his anti-Elon bumper sticker and his carefully crafted letters.
"I used silver duct tape to create Tesla-formatted letters," said Lown.
The back of his car clearly states how he feels about the CEO of Tesla and the Trump Administration.
"It says 'resist' ending in the Tesla T and 'I bought this vehicle before we knew how mad he was'," said Lown.
He's a medical doctor who has worked for decades in California's public healthcare systems, helping to improve the lives of marginalized populations.
"The fact that they were trying to shut down USAID, which helps people around the world, that is horrific and terrible," said Lown.
Lown has seen plenty of anti-Elon stickers around town, including 'Elon Ate my Cat', 'Even my dog hates Elon', and 'Acquired Pre-Elon Meltdown'.
After protests across the country erupted at Tesla dealerships, Tesla announced last month that its first-quarter sales dropped 13%, marking its worst performance in years.
But the company's stock price has recently rebounded.
"It's not coincidental the stocks have had such a huge rebound here because Tesla needed its biggest asset back, and that's Musk," said Dan Ives, a managing director at Wedbush Securities and senior equity research analyst.
Musk announced he's spending less time starting this month at DOGE, the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, while Tesla's board is exploring a new pay deal for Musk.
"There's still going to be long-term permanent brand damage, but he needed to contain the damage. That's why he needed to rip the band-aid off and get out of the Trump administration," Ives said.
Lown was hoping for the board to oust Musk.
Like many other Tesla owners, he says simply selling it would be too costly and a waste. He wants others to keep the movement going.
"I've seen several people get out their cameras and take pictures of the back of our car. It makes me proud," Lown said.
He'll take the small wins on the road for now.
