For many early adopters, Tesla's Cybertruck was meant to be a statement—an all-electric, stainless-steel futuristic tank that screamed something out of Blade Runner. Now, for at least some of the first Cybertruck buyers, their car is still screaming — but in an entirely different way.Between plummeting resale values, trade-in rejections, vandalism with swastika graffiti and stickers on their cars, a growing movement of regretful Cybertruck owners are disguising their cars to avoid harassment, with some pointing their fingers directly at Tesla CEO Elon Musk.Kumait Jaroje, a Cybertruck owner and longtime electric vehicle enthusiast who runs a cosmetic surgery clinic in Southborough, Massachussets, bought his truck in April 2024 for business purposes. "I liked the look, I needed it for transportation, and I thought, 'Great, it's electric—cheaper to run.' Simple," he told Newsweek.But as Musk leaned further into right-wing politics—endorsing Trump and spending millions to help his campaign in Pennsylvania, injecting himself into the European far-right movement, and capping it off with a controversial salute at in the inauguration—Jaroje found himself caught in the crossfire."At first, people would joke about the Cybertruck, give a thumbs up, thumbs down—whatever," he said. "Then suddenly, I'm getting middle fingers, people yelling at me, acting like I just drove out of a Trump rally."Driving a Cybertruck in public has become akin to operating a moving political billboard in an America riven by Trump's return to politics, whether its owners want it to be or not.Social media is rife with images of the distinctive vehicles vandalized with swastikas, with one recently spotted in Lower Manhattan. Dealerships and showrooms are also being targeted, with protests at various Tesla locations across the U.S. Jaroje, who moved to the U.S. from Syria in 2010 and is now a naturalized citizen, had to experience the backlash himself when he took his children to school in the Cybertruck one morning. Later that day, he found a sticker plastered on the vehicle, reading "NAZIS F--- OFF."After a series of such incidents, including online harassment targeting his business, he decided he'd had enough."I don't want to drive something that makes people angry," he said. "I tried to trade it in, but Tesla is refusing to take it back.""They just told me they weren't taking it," he said. "I even asked for written confirmation, and they sent me a text saying Tesla is not accepting Cybertruck trade-ins at this time."According to reports from the Cybertruck Owners Club, an online forum, Jaroje isn't alone. The resale value of the Cybertruck—once hyped as the ultimate status symbol—is tanking. Prices on secondary markets are cratering, with some used models selling for tens of thousands less than their sticker price, which starts at about $80,000.And Tesla does not seem eager to buy back its own product.Newsweek reached out to Tesla for comment on Tuesday.Tesla's Struggles in the Global MarketWhile U.S. Cybertruck owners are dealing with resale nightmares, Tesla's problems are global. The company's brand value dropping 26 percent year over year, according to the research firm Brand Finance. The firm attributed at least part of that $15 billion in wiped out value to Musk entering the political arena, spending at least $288 million to help elect Trump and other Republican candidates.Tesla maintains a high loyalty score of 90 percent in the U.S., however. That means customers who already owned a Tesla vehicle were likely to keep driving it over the next 12 months. But Tesla's recommendation score in the U.S. has fallen off a cliff, going from 8.2 out of 10 to 4.3, according to Brand Finance.In Europe, the brand is in a full-blown free fall.Tesla sold just 9,900 units in the European market last month, marking a 45 percent drop compared to the same period in 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Its share of new car registrations declined from 1.8 percent to 1 percent, with insiders attributing much of the decline to Musk's increasingly erratic public behavior."While Musk might get away with a [Nazi-like] salute in some parts of the world, European markets reject such behavior," said Tim Kraaijvanger, founder of Tesla360.nl, a Dutch Tesla-focused website. He added that he recently sold his Model Y and bought a Swedish Polestar instead."CEOs are not only leaders; they are considered brand ambassadors," Abigail Wright, Senior Business Consultant at the Chamber of Commerce, told Newsweek. "Their actions and words shape consumer trust, influence investor confidence, and define the brand's overall perception," she added.The billionaire, whose wealth is largely tied up in Tesla stock that has lost a quarter of its value in the last month, has endorsed Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which achieved its best-ever results in Sunday's general elections. He also used his X account to incite social unrest in the United Kingdom and has been accused of manipulating algorithms on that platform to sway public discourse in France—actions that have negatively impacted Tesla's sales.According to EV Magazine, which specializes in electric vehicles, sales in France have dropped by 63.4 percent, while Germany saw a 59.5 percent decline and the Netherlands experienced a 42.5 percent fall.European activists have gone as far as projecting an image of Musk's controversial salute onto Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory, complete with the word "Heil" next to the illuminated Tesla logo. Two left-wing activist groups, Led By Donkeys from the U.K. and Germany's Center for Political Beauty, claimed responsibility for the stunt.Beyond the sales numbers in France, Germany, and the U.K., the trend continued across Europe, with Tesla registrations slumping over 40 percent in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, according to electric vehicle-focused outlet Electrek, with Spain seeing the steepest decline of 75 percent.Two left-wing political activist groups, the UK-based Led By Donkeys and Germany's Zentrum für Politische Schönheit, which translates to The Center for Political Beauty, have claimed to have beamed an image of Elon Musk's controversial salute onto Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin. Zentrum für Politische Schönheit on X"There's no getting past the fact that the January numbers are incredibly disappointing and could start to suggest a migration away from the brand to alternatives to Tesla," Matthias Schmidt, an automotive analyst, told the Financial Times.'I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy'Some disillusioned Tesla owners are already attempting to sell their cars, like Andrew Loewinger, who considered offloading his Model S to protest Musk and his "abhorrent politics and actions," as he told the Washington Post.But for Cybertruck owners, the situation is more complicated, pushing some to get creative by some removing the Tesla logo or replacing it with a badge from another brand, despite the Cybertruck being among the most recognizable vehicles on the road.Images posted on Reddit show Tesla drivers stenciling Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and even Audi logos on their vehicles in an attempt to avoid being recognized.Bumper stickers on Etsy reading "I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy" and "Anti-Elon Tesla Club" are also thriving, with both selling by the thousands. As one former enthusiast bluntly said to Wired, driving a Tesla in certain circles today "feels like wearing a MAGA hat on wheels."As for Kumait Jaroje, he's still trying to get rid of his gold-plated Cybertruck."If I get anything next, I'm not going for a Tesla," he said. "Not after this mess."Related ArticlesTesla Stock is StrugglingAnti-Elon Musk 'Swasticar' Advert Viewed More Than 6 Million TimesTesla Recall of 376,000 Vehicles: Everything You Need To KnowTesla Cybertruck Defaced With Swastika by Wall Street
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