Tesla owners selling at a loss to cut ties with Elon Musk
Polestar finds traction with Tesla owners
Bradley Timm of Chelsea, Michigan, went from loving his 2018 Tesla Model 3 so much that he purchased a 2023 Tesla Model Y. Then he and his wife said they ended up so mortified by the conduct of Tesla CEO Elon Musk that they didn’t want to be associated with his electric vehicle company — and sold both vehicles at a loss, switching brands.
“Like it or not, in our culture, branding is important,” Timm said. “I don’t like that the things we wear and our purchases define us, but they really do. If you're driving around and other people see you driving that (Tesla) -- even if you don't believe it should represent who you are -- other people will think it does. Instead of being proud of what we were driving, it was just the opposite.”
Over the past year, Musk’s behavior and public comments have grown increasingly erratic but reached peak insanity in recent days that simply required a clean break despite the financial loss, Timm said.
He isn’t the only Tesla owner or investor expressing concern.
Watching Musk lead efforts to make “unconstitutional cuts to services such as Medicaid and Medicare that a lot of disabled people rely on — or suggesting all government employees are lazy or ripping off the system, ugh,” Timm said. “That all made me get rid of the car.”
No one could have anticipated what has unfolded since the inauguration of President Trump or the profound lack of empathy toward fellow Americans, Timm said.
When he first purchased a Tesla, he drove to Cleveland to pick it up and later invested in the company.
Timm, 48, said he was sickened by Musk attacking his critics as “retards” and “retarded” when posting to his 219 million followers on the site he owns formerly known as Twitter, most recently during a clash with an astronaut.
“What he was saying, his values, did not align with us,” said Timm, a Special Olympics volunteer. “When he used the “r” word, he didn’t apologize. And then he was echoed by a lot of people. I was like, can I really be driving around in this thing that’s the complete opposite of who I am and what I care about — just the lack of care or empathy toward humans? For him, it's all about picking these marginalized groups and being mean to them. That's the complete opposite of the values I have and the reason I even bought the car. I care about the environment. I care about people.”
Musk called European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen “fully ret---ed” on Feb. 20, 2025. Mogensen, who piloted a mission for Musk’s SpaceX in 2023, said Musk was lying for political reasons about astronauts being abandoned in space.
Allegations of spreading misinformation have swirled around Musk. And he has continued to use the “r” word when defending himself. On Feb. 22, in response to another critic, Musk wrote, “I’m tempted to call this guy a retard but I won’t because I’ve used that word too many times.”
Initially, Timm said he put a bumper sticker on his car that said, “We didn’t know about Elon Musk when we bought this.” Then Timm placed a deposit on a Rivian before deciding it was too big for a couple with no kids. A friend who purchased a Polestar recommended his sales consultant.
That was 11 days ago.
Arber Velencia at Polestar Detroit in Royal Oak, Michigan, worked his magic to close the deal on a lease for a Polestar 3, tapping a $15,000 clean energy rebate and an extra $5,000 discount for Tesla owners.
Timm, whose father worked at General Motors, went from a Saab to Tesla. Polestar reminds Timm and his wife of their Saab. “We’re happy — at least about the car. I don’t want to suggest to anyone that I’m happy in this 1984-like dystopia.”
On Monday night, Musk survived a vote to oust him from the Royal Society scientific academy to which he was elected in 2018 for his work in space and electric vehicles, according to The Independent. In a letter signed by 2,400 members, Musk was accused of breaking the code of conduct by spreading “unfounded conspiracy theories”
Polestar sees activity ‘surge’ from Tesla buyers
Greg Ostrowski, manager of Polestar Detroit in Royal Oak, said potential customers have reported feeling abandoned by the longtime clean energy advocate who waved a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, last month to symbolize drastic job cuts led by his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
On Feb. 21, Polestar announced their promotion until March 31 — offering Tesla owners an extra $5,000 offer on top of a $15,000 clean vehicle incentive.
“Even before the offer was available to our customers, we were having Tesla drivers or people considering a new Tesla, saying they no longer wanted it,” Ostrowski said.
‘Surge’ in activity
The new promotion has “drastically affected” everything, Ostrowski said. “Before the conquest offer, I would say in the last month we have seen an increase from Tesla owners or Tesla shoppers coming into the door quite a bit more. But once the conquest offer was announced, I would say we’ve had a ‘surge’ in inquiries, website visits, phone calls and test drives. We've seen an increase on any way you can contact us and research the brand in general.”
The Detroit site has sold half a dozen vehicles directly linked to the Tesla promotion, he said.
A Polestar 3 starts around $69,000 and runs into the $90,000s with special options including enhanced performance, massage seats and ventilated Nappa leather. Its battery has an estimated range up to 350 miles.
So far, 95% of the takers have been attracted by the lease deal of $599 a month for 27 months. Tesla owners are swapping Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y.
“If we’re not buying them, they’re privately selling them, ranging from 2019 vehicles all the way to 2025 vehicles,” Ostrowski said. “We had a couple customers who bought towards the end of last year and they’re already looking to get out of it. That’s very unusual.”
Despite being an industry leader for years, recent actions of Musk have opened the market to competitors. Polestar happens to be a luxury brand that directly competes with Tesla.
“We started getting people who were taking Elon into the equation,” said Ostrowski, noting that customers have been stunned by the drop in value of their Tesla vehicles.
Tesla, facing global backlash, has seen its stock price, sales and car values plummet.
One customer complained to Ostrowski about paying close to $120,000 for a Tesla Model S and then seeing its sticker price drop 20% because of Musk.
Watching with ‘concern’
Mark DenUyl, 53, a construction company owner from Marysville, Michigan, has owned a Tesla Model 3 for two years. He said he doesn’t understand Musk.
“I’m just a blue collar worker and it seems like he’s out for the ultra rich,” DenUyl said. “I would be less likely to buy a Tesla now than I was when we purchased this vehicle new, that's for sure. I’d look at any other vehicle.”
DenUyl — a father of three who also owns a Toyota Corolla, a Toyota Camry hybrid and a Ford F-350 Super Duty truck — said he’s worried about the value of his Tesla dropping.
His wife told me she wants to switch out of their Tesla as soon as possible financially.
Dr. Reid Stromberg, 56, a board certified family physician from Fort Gratiot, Michigan, and faculty member of the residency program at McLaren Port Huron Hospital, drives a 2024 Tesla Model Y — his second Model Y SUV.
“It’s a great car,” said Stromberg, who previously owned a Jeep Compass and BMW 4 Series. He canceled his order for the Tesla Cybertruck.
“I think Elon Musk has lost his mind,” said Stromberg, a father of five married to a nurse. “I think he has lost focus that he's a CEO of several companies and he’s neglecting those duties to deal with DOGE. As a result, his companies are suffering.”
Protesters have shown up at Tesla showrooms across the U.S. in response to mass layoffs that include cutting air traffic control, slashing USAID and concern Musk’s actions could jeopardize Social Security.
On Monday, arsonists torched a dozen Tesla vehicles in France. Tesla Superchargers have been vandalized, too.
“Elon Musk is the face of the company,” said Stromberg, who described himself as a moderate independent. “I think his actions are unbecoming of a corporate CEO and his actions are affecting his companies. He’s taking things too far politically.
Stromberg, who said he purchased Tesla to save money and help the environment.
“Tesla’s reputation is being damaged by its CEO. I’m watching with concern,” Stromberg said. And he wouldn’t likely get another one.
“I would have second thoughts,” he said. “Competitors have come out with good products. Rivian makes a fantastic vehicle.”
His vehicle isn’t the only Tesla in the hospital parking lot, Stromberg said. “I’ve spoken to a Model X owner who thinks, ‘Wow, Musk is really affecting the company with his political comments.”
Tesla owners ‘underwater’ on car value
Thing is, Elon Musk has always been unstable and erratic, said longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber of Santa Monica, Calif., whose investment firm focuses on electric vehicles and climate change.
He, too, received the Polestar alert via email.
“Almost all Tesla owners are underwater on their cars,” Gerber told me. “So even if you want to get rid of your car, you owe more than what you would get. This prevents a lot of owners from selling their cars because you lose money.”
While most American support improved government efficiency, the optics of slashing everything with little concern for the consequences has further divided the nation, he said. “Like, walking around with a chainsaw when you're talking about people's lives. I get that billionaire tech people with no soul don't understand that humans have families to support even if they work for the government.”
Gerber pointed out that the last president to cut government, balance the budget and create a surplus was Bill Clinton, who left office in 2001 after two terms.
‘CEO is so toxic’
While Musk spent time with President Trump, Tesla sales “plunged” in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and France in February compared to a year ago, losing market share despite a growing electric vehicle market, according to Reuters.
“You have this wonderful company doing wonderful things for the environment but the CEO is so toxic ... This is unprecedented,” Gerber said. “All these other brands have really good cars, and now people are buying them. Polestar should be aggressive. It’s smart business. The Polestar 3 is a great alternative to the Tesla Model Y.”
He added, “This will be an example of a brand that is 100% destroyed by the CEO, where the company itself did nothing to rectify it — which is even more crazy. Nobody at Tesla will do anything to try to fix the Tesla brand because somehow the guy who owns 13% of the company controls everything that happens.”
Total empathy for Bradley when he says "No one could have anticipated what has unfolded since the inauguration of President Trump or the profound lack of empathy toward fellow Americans." It's very American, indeed patriotic, to feel this way--to believe, somehow, the best is yet to come. But honestly, Trump and Elon were hinting at all of the crap they are now pulling well before election day. They are delivering on their promise to drive the whole nation into the ground.
Imagine that, a politician, actually living up to his promises. Too bad we are the ones who pay the price.
I remember when corporate boards would fire nutballs like Musk.