Those taking responsibility call this a surprise rebrand for Tesla amid the controversy
4 hours ago
- A new protest targeting Tesla and Elon Musk just popped up in London.
- The ad ties Musk and Tesla to Nazis and calls the brand’s models “Swasticars.”
- The group behind the protest offers merchandise to support their cause.
Car news has always had its fair share of oddball moments, but over the last few years, much of the weirdness has come courtesy of Elon Musk. No other automotive CEO draws as much attention as he does and lately, it hasn’t been for the reasons he might hope. After several questionable actions by the boss at Tesla, he’s found himself at the center of yet another controversy, this time in the form of an ad campaign that’s got Londoners raising an eyebrow or two. And no, it’s not another SpaceX launch.
This time, it takes the form of what appears to be a well-executed advertising campaign that has gone viral. Located at the Pollard Row bus stop in London, UK, it has been up for only a short time but is already drawing quite a bit of attention
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“Goes From 0 To 1939 In 3 Seconds,” says the ad, alluding to Musk’s perceived fandom of Nazis and Adolf Hitler. Below the wordmark is a depiction of Musk and his now-infamous gesture at a U.S. political event. A Model X appears too with the words “Tesla The Swasticar,” beneath Musk.
The phrase ‘swasticar’ is becoming more and more common among those who disagree with Musk’s politics. The group taking responsibility for the ad offers merchandise including stickers with the phrase “Don’t Buy A Swasticar” along with another depiction of Musk. It also allegedly sells the poster ad seen in London via PDF on its website, though we couldn’t find it.
Notably, the stickers and ad aren’t the only actions the campaigners have taken. They’ve also delivered a cardboard cutout of Musk making that gesture to a Tesla dealership and set it up in the lobby. An online GoFundMe campaign for the group aims to raise £10,000 (the current goal), but it’s unclear exactly what for.
“We’ve plastered ‘don’t buy a swasticar’ stickers across hundreds of Teslas in London and taken a cardboard cutout of Elon Musk to a Tesla dealership – prompting customers to tell us to “f**k off” because they’re offended for some reason… We’re planning more – but we need to raise at least £20k to help us fund the actions we have planned. Are you in?”
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The group has raised £9,252 from 500 donations so far, toward their £10,000 goal. Of all the protesting organizations out there, this one seems to have more staying power than most. Others appear to be just individuals upset with Musk or small groups making seemingly idle threats. Whether it’s more stickers, more cardboard Musk statues, or just more general mayhem, we’re not sure—but you can bet it’ll be entertaining.
Image Credit: Everyonehateselon_