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California's adoption rate for electric vehicles is higher than anywhere in the country. And when it comes to Teslas, 1 in 3 sold last year in the U.S. was sold in California. But ever since Tesla founder Elon Musk took a central role in the Trump administration, Tesla's stock prices have declined by about a third since inauguration. And some Tesla drivers in California are feeling conflicted, CapRadio's Laura Fitzgerald reports.
LAURA FITZGERALD: On any given day in Berkeley, you're likely to see what looks like a motorcade of identical Teslas driving by. But lately, more and more Tesla drivers in this notoriously liberal city are putting anti-Elon Musk bumper stickers on their cars. Fred Liao has one of these stickers. He pulls up to the Berkeley Trader Joe's in his Model 3.
FRED LIAO: I feel ashamed driving Tesla now. I don't think it's right to - very rich people to influence our decision-making process in this so kind of direct way.
FITZGERALD: At a grocery store across town, Christine Will parks her Model X. She doesn't have a sticker but is in the market for one.
What is yours going to say, you think?
CHRISTINE WILL: That I bought it before I knew he was nuts (laughter), basically.
FITZGERALD: Will was an early Tesla adopter. She says she got her car back in 2016.
WILL: I, you know, was on board with the, you know, whole EV, climate change, all of that, and was excited about the range. You want to do what you can, but I, at the same time, don't want to be supporting this.
FITZGERALD: Not everyone in Berkeley feels this way. Vipul Garg likes that his Tesla is better for the environment and says he doesn't really pay much attention to Musk.
VIPUL GARG: His opinions are his opinions. The product he's made is different from the person.
FITZGERALD: Meanwhile, other Tesla drivers are taking their resistance a step further and trying to sell their cars. Recent data from the California Energy Commission shows that EV sales leveled off in 2024 after years of rapid growth. Tesla sales dropped by more than 10% in the state. EV experts say Tesla's dip likely has a lot to do with increased competition from other manufacturers, but is it possible that some people's disapproval of Musk and Tesla could start to impact California's broader EV market?
JAMES SALLEE: Yes. Because Tesla is such a large part of the market, I think there's a very real chance that this can have an effect on the market overall.
FITZGERALD: James Sallee is an EV and economic expert at UC Berkeley. He says EVs are more likely to be adopted in more liberal and affluent regions, like Berkeley. It's too soon to tell, but he says if drivers in these communities sell their Teslas and opt for a different EV, it's possible people in redder parts of the country could end up buying them.
SALLEE: Then, on net, we could get an increase in electric vehicles if, suddenly, Elon Musk's identity switch causes an embrace of electric vehicles in the part of America that had very low take-up previously.
FITZGERALD: Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment about the recent dip in sales in California or backlash from some consumers against the company.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho...
FITZGERALD: Protests against Musk have been popping up in liberal areas around the country. Some have been small, but in Berkeley, over 100 people came out to protest in front of a Tesla showroom. Protester Matthew O'Neill said he had friends who lost their jobs as part of Musk and Trump's efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
MATTHEW O NEILL: And DOGE and Elon have no idea what they do. They do great work, and now they're out jobs.
FITZGERALD: I ask O'Neill whether he feels like Musk's politics impact his willingness to get an electric car. He says he already drives a EV, but it isn't a Tesla. For NPR News, I'm Laura Fitzgerald in Berkeley.
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