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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporter

Australian Tesla sales plummet as owners rush to distance themselves from Elon Musk

Elon Musk Tesla Inc. United States Australia Donald Trump
A Tesla Model 3
Tesla’s Model 3 was the second-best selling EV in Australia last year, but sales are down 81% this month compared with last February. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Australian Tesla owners troubled by the increasingly extreme rightwing politics of the company’s co-founder, Elon Musk, are offloading their electric vehicles or using bumper stickers to distance themselves from the Trump-aligned billionaire.

Fresh vehicle sales data for February – which covered the weeks after Musk’s apparent fascist salute at a Trump inauguration rally – showed a steep decline in Tesla purchases. Sales were down about 72% compared to the same month in 2024.

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