Tesla owners are increasingly reporting that they’re being subjected to more hate on the roads and at the charges, seemingly fueled either by a hatred of the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, or a broader disdain towards electric vehicles in general.
An Axios report that reviewed Iowa’s Tesla drivers found that “Tesla drivers are routinely heckled, cut off in traffic, and blocked from charging stations.” Respondents spoke of drivers rolling coal onto their EVs, or facing situations of ICEing, where drivers of combustion-powered cars block access to charge points.
In August, it was reported that although Tesla owners are happy with their vehicles, they wish the company’s CEO was less controversial — something that likely hasn’t been helped by Musk’s ongoing controversies at the helm of Twitter.
Read: Elon Musk Reportedly Becoming Liability, Turning New Buyers And Old Away From Tesla
In fact, according to Marc Geller, spokesperson for the Electric Vehicle Association and a Tesla owner himself, the fact that Elon Musk has un-banned Donald Trump on Twitter while taking a conservative standpoint, opens up the Tesla brand to a new barrage of disapproval from traditional liberal EV zealots.
Not everyone thinks the purported Tesla hate is purely a result of Musk, though. The Guardian interviewed several Tesla owners who feel the hostilities are pointed toward electric vehicles in general.
“People cut us off on the freeway, give us the finger, yell at me through the windows,” says Theresa Ramsdell from the Bellevue, Washington, area. Many others quoted have come across similar, with Tesla drivers reporting that they’re flipped off, cut off, and generally given disparaging looks more so than when they drive any other kind of car.
While Tesla goes from strength to strength in sales, it’s important to note that legacy automakers are slowly but surely catching up with the market leaders. Will this have an impact on how consumers treat Teslas in the future? Only time will tell.
