Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s dramatic cost-cutting efforts and prolific championing of right-wing causes is turning some Republicans into Tesla evangelists and souring Democrats on the electric vehicle company that claimed to be helping save the planet from climate change.
President Donald Trump purchased a Tesla Model S last month after years of bashing electric vehicles from the campaign trail and the Oval Office. Now, like-minded Republicans are flocking to the shiny red EV and posing for the cameras as Musk critics vandalize his stores and demand he leave the company.
Earlier this year, people would have been confused to see prominent Republicans endorsing Teslas, and Democrats rejecting theirs. But Musk’s controversial government-slashing spree and social media posts that spread streams of misinformation has flipped conventional party-line orthodoxy on EVs, or at least Teslas, on its head.
The ongoing shift underscores the complicated politics surrounding both Musk and the clean energy transition. And it could spill over into broader electric vehicle policy debates just as congressional Republicans are gearing up to roll back federal support for EVs and other green energy technologies.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, posted a picture of himself last month on the social media platform X — also owned by Musk — next to a Tesla at the White House. “This may be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” the post said.
But Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a recent video he was getting rid of his own Tesla Model S.
“When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue,” Kelly said. “Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country.”
Electric cars have long had political connotations, but the culture war around the United States’ most popular EV brand followed Musk’s involvement in politics and escalated when Trump tapped the billionaire to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The appointment appeared to cement Musk’s yearslong transformation from a climate-conscious entrepreneur to a conservative deregulatory czar. He no longer focuses on the environment as much as issues like immigration and the size of government.
As Musk got more involved with the Trump administration, some liberal Tesla owners across the country began distancing themselves from the company through bumper stickers. Other owners have rebadged their cars.
The change in perception shifted into a new gear last month, when violent activists began attacking Tesla vehicles and stores. The company’s stock has been on the decline.
Trump responded by standing with Musk on the White House lawn to show his support, showcasing several Teslas before purchasing a Model S with his own money, according to the White House.
Americans “love the product,” Trump told reporters. “But because he’s finding all sorts of terrible things that are taking place against our country, they want to penalize him in an economic sense, and I just think that’s very unfair, so I just wanted to make a statement: I’m gonna buy one.”
He picked out the Tesla Model S in Ultra Red; the base model retails for $79,990. The president is not allowed to drive it himself, so Trump said he would let his staff use it.
The White House has at least one EV charger. It was installed by former President Joe Biden.
“The flip of Republicans on EVs has been very dramatic,” said Jeff Navin, co-founder of the advocacy firm Boundary Stone Partners.
“There was unified Republican opposition to everything related to EVs,” Navin said. “The only cracks we’re starting to see now is that, as there’s ironically a liberal backlash against Tesla, they’re viewing Tesla as a victim.”
‘Cult of personality’
Trump’s Tesla has mostly been parked outside the West Wing. Republican members of Congress — including those who have railed against the Biden administration’s pro-EV policies — have stopped by to snap pictures with the electric car for their social media accounts.
They say the vehicle is technologically impressive, and they like that it’s American-made. When asked, they have said their gripe is not with EVs, but with Democratic policies and regulations that they say are designed to force a transition to EVs — what they call an “EV mandate.” They also oppose consumer tax credits for EV purchases.
But Republicans have frequently bashed EVs as the preferred car of coastal elites. They often criticize their range and point to the relative dearth of charging infrastructure, even as they work to block funding for new charging stations.
Last year, the National Republican Senatorial Committee mocked then-Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) for driving a hybrid Toyota Prius. Republican Tim Sheehy defeated Tester easily in November.
“Electric cars are good — if you have a towing company,” Trump said at a rally in 2023. Similar comments against EVs broadly have continued from the GOP despite support for Tesla specifically. And it doesn’t look like Republican lawmakers are rushing to go electric.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso recently said families in his home state of Wyoming “should not foot the bill for expensive electric cars they don’t want and can’t afford.”
Democrats are working to defend pro-EV policies from Republicans’ ongoing effort to repeal them through the budget reconciliation process, which allows the majority party to secure fiscal wins by simple majority.
They say their colleagues’ recent fawning over Trump’s new Tesla is disingenuous — little more than a display of submission to Trump’s powerful ally Musk.
“It’s the cult of personality,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, whose wife owns a Tesla. “It has nothing to do with the car, the technology, EVs. It’s just one more way to show your loyalty to Trump.”
Outside observers with ties to the energy industry say they are watching to see whether recent controversies around Tesla could affect EV-related decisions in Republicans’ reconciliation planning. But the consensus is that the GOP’s longtime disdain for EV subsidies will likely prevail.
“Elon seemed to kind of back away from the need for [EV] tax credits earlier, but that was before they saw the dramatic decrease in demand for his cars,” Navin said, referring to Musk saying last year that Republicans should “get rid of all credits.”
Regardless, Navin said, the EV tax credit in Democrats’ 2022 climate law “is kind of seen as the one with the biggest target on its back.”
Republicans flock to Trump’s EV
One of the first congressional Republicans to pose beside Trump’s red EV was Cruz. He said he spotted the car when he was walking into the White House to interview Musk for his podcast.
Last Congress, Cruz introduced a resolution to repeal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fuel efficiency standards, which, when combined with EPA regulations for vehicle emissions, is prompting automakers to gradually produce fewer gas cars and more EVs.
“I don’t support forcing consumers to purchase an EV, but if a consumer chooses to do so, there are lots of options on the market, and Teslas are amazing vehicles,” he said. Cruz added he is proud that Tesla is based in Texas.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) shared a photo with Trump’s Tesla, writing, “@ElonMusk sure knows what he’s doing!”
Barr was a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s use of emergency powers to prop up manufacturing of clean energy technologies. Trump has declared an energy emergency to boost fossil fuel production, and Barr has cheered on his push for “energy dominance.” His office did not respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), who penned an op-ed last year criticizing the Biden administration’s moves to boost EV uptake, also posted a photo with Trump’s Tesla. So did South Carolina’s Republican lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette, after meetings with DOGE officials.
One Republican who has been notably quiet about Trump’s new ride is Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has owned his own Tesla for 12 years. Trump called for Massie to be primaried after he opposed a Republican spending bill earlier this year.
He downplayed the political whirlwind in which Tesla and the president have recently found themselves: “If it’s a good thing, buy it,” he said. “If it’s not, don’t.”
Republicans could soon add another Tesla owner to their ranks. Randy Fine, a former Florida state senator, is running to succeed national security adviser Michael Waltz in a special election Tuesday.
Democrats distance themselves
Democrats likely would have cheered if Biden had purchased a Tesla, but a lot has changed since he left office.
Musk has become public enemy No. 1 for congressional Democrats and their liberal constituents, and many don’t want to run the political risk of appearing to support him or his company by owning a Tesla.
“A year ago, the left loved the electric vehicle, remember?” House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), said at a press conference last week. “Now, what are they doing? They’re vandalizing the electric vehicle. … That is Democrat-on-Democrat crime if I’ve ever seen it.”
Kelly got rid of his Model S and replaced it with a new, gas-powered Chevrolet Tahoe, touting the fact that it was unionmade, unlike the Tesla. In an interview, Kelly, a former astronaut, said he had gotten the Tesla because it drives “like a rocket ship,” not because it produces zero tailpipe emissions. In fact, he said charging the battery got to be annoying.
“The performance is really incredible. You can’t get a Lamborghini that performs as well,” Kelly said. “But, you know, the inside’s kind of junky, and you gotta charge it all the time, especially when it’s cold. … That was an issue for me.”
He said he opted for the Tahoe because it’s the same car he drives in Arizona. Asked about the significantly higher emissions, Kelly noted that he drives less than 2,000 miles a year in Washington and that his new car shuts its engine off automatically while stopped at red lights.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has been saying for years that she wants to exchange her Tesla for a vehicle made with union labor.
She told reporters last week that she is “certainly in that process” and said she likely would not announce it when she dumps her Tesla because of privacy and security concerns.
Ocasio-Cortez quipped that Republicans gushing over Trump’s new Tesla “want to spend their time selling cars instead of acting like duly elected members of Congress.”
And Heinrich said he and his wife have discussed their Tesla in the context of Musk’s new notoriety. They don’t plan to get rid of it, he said, but they’ve talked about getting “a really big bumper sticker” to tell drivers behind them how they really feel.
He said it could say something like, “We bought the Tesla before we knew Elon Musk was a dick.”
Massie said he thinks some Democrats had originally bought their Teslas simply to show off their environmental bona fides. He suggested he doesn’t have much sympathy for his colleagues who are now wanting to abandon them.
“Maybe some people bought electric cars, had Teslas, because they wanted to signal their virtues,” he said. “Now, they’re upset that they have an $80,000 signal that’s maybe signaling not what they want.”
This story also appears in Energywire.
