Former magazine editor John Blumenthal raised concerns through the Los Angeles Times about owning a Tesla as a liberal after Elon Musk bought Twitter.
Wednesday’s article titled “I bought a Tesla to help the environment. Now I’m embarrassed to drive it,” wrote Blumenthal, who had previously bought a Tesla to reduce carbon emissions. .
“Due to the recent exposure of Elon Musk’s political views – all of which I hate – I’m starting to worry about what kind of political statement the car is making. Will people see me as a symbol of the environmentalism of right, a living oxymoron?” Blumenthal asked.
He insisted that this apprehension was driven by Musk’s goal of turning Twitter into “an unguarded playground for neo-Nazis and other random hatemongers and wackadoodle QAnon followers.”
Interior of the Tesla Model S twin-motor electric sedan on display at Brussels Expo on January 9, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.
(Photo by Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images)
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“When I bought the car, I had no real opinion on Musk’s somewhat obscure political beliefs. Now that Musk has apparently swung to the far right – banning journalists from Twitter while reinstating neo-Nazis – I am horrified to be associated with his brand every time I drive anywhere,” Blumenthal wrote. “I don’t know if I should sell, but I know I’m not as comfortable driving it anymore.”
The article also revealed that Blumenthal’s motivation for buying a Tesla in the United States was primarily driven by politics.”
“The car was impractical, but it had sentimental value. My environmental activist friends were unimpressed with my diligent urban composting, LED light bulb installations and energy-efficient appliances. I needed to do more to reduce my carbon footprint. Icebergs were melting, my friends said, and at least one polar bear was wandering homeless and hungry because of me,” he wrote.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured as he attends the start of production at Tesla’s ‘Gigafactory’ on March 22, 2022 in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin.
(Photo by PATRICK PLEUL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
While Blumenthal acknowledged that “selling a used Tesla would hardly cause a problem for the company”, he continued to wonder if he should act as “a form of protest”.
“It’s a beautifully designed zero-carbon car, and initially I was proud to own it and to be seen driving a vehicle that showed my concern for the environment. But I’m a liberal, and if Musk’s policies don’t drastically change for the better, driving a Tesla will become, at least for me, as hypocritical and unsustainable as driving a gas guzzler was,” Blumenthal concluded.
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The piece was ridiculed on Twitter as Blumenthal based his purchases on purely political motivations.
“‘All I do is to signal social virtue. Can someone who is good at economics please help,'” joked Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, a colleague at the Center for Ethics. and public policy.
American Conservation Coalition Executive Vice President Danielle Butcher wrote, “It’s embarrassing that people still think that.”
“I dismiss the idea that a ‘Hey look at me’ electric car is acquired purely out of concern for the environment,” tweeted Chicago Tribune writer Kevin Williams.
The logo of car manufacturer Tesla is seen at a branch in Bern, Switzerland, October 28, 2020.
(REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)
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“You should just get a car without toxic historic baggage, like a Ford or a Volkswagen,” podcast host Coleman Hughes joked.
“Sorry, your plan to redeem your climate guilt with a vehicle that displays your concern for the environment didn’t work! But if you really want to stick with Elon, try taking the bus,” Alissa Walker wrote, New York Magazine writer.
