Trump Claims Boycotting Tesla Is Illegal, Which It Very Much Is Not
from the free-speech-warriors dept
Elon Musk’s companies aren’t having the best couple of weeks, it seems. ExTwitter suffered from several outages this week, some lengthy, while Musk claimed that it was the result of a DDoS attack and hinted that Ukraine might be to blame. The story of SpaceX thus far in 2025 has mostly been one filled with delays, malfunctions, and the occasional explosion. Last week saw the seventh straight weekly decline of stock price for Tesla.
None of these are insurmountable challenges for the world’s richest man, assuming he still is that after these past few months. Twitter can build more resiliency into its platform if it chooses. The rockets can be fixed. And Tesla’s stock will surely rise at some point. In other words, I can’t claim that all of this is the result of Musk’s purchase of a fugazi cabinet post at DOGE.
But then, I don’t actually have to, since Musk essentially said as much himself recently.
Musk’s support of Trump in the runup to last year’s presidential election and subsequent leadership in his government efficiency initiative has sparked backlash. Analysts have cited this reputational shift as a driver of trouble for the automaker’s stock, which posted its worst day since 2020 on Monday and is down 45% in 2025.
Musk acknowledged the hit to his businesses in an interview Monday, saying he was running them “with great difficulty” because of his high-profile role with this administration. He told Fox Business that as head of DOGE, “you’re giving up your other stuff.”
Then give it the fuck up, my man. If you only have the bandwidth to either run these three companies well or dismantle history’s most successful democracy, then pick one and let’s get on with it. Because the shareholders of Tesla can’t be thrilled to hear that it’s Musk’s efforts to ensure the DOGE team, sometimes referred to as “The Twitler Youth,” makes as many mistakes as possible while on its way to becoming the very thing it was supposedly going to eliminate.
But while every mishap of late for Musk’s companies can’t be pinned specifically on the ire in the public over his callous actions at DOGE, the same cannot be true for the protests occurring at Tesla dealerships, nor the vitriol visited upon owners of Musk’s grotesque Cybertruck. Insults have been hurled at owners of Tesla vehicles with such velocity that some of them want to be considered a protected federal class. And if that isn’t funny to you, then you’re the one with the problem.
While Trump and Musk would have you believe that DOGE’s actions are overwhelmingly popular with the public, the actual polling data appears to range between approval of DOGE being barely above 50% to being far below that number. Meanwhile, the anger at Musk and DOGE is absolutely fueling the protests, property damage, and public outcry at Tesla owners and dealerships.
Somehow, Donald Trump seems to think that boycotting Tesla specifically is illegal. It very much is not.
“I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” Trump wrote in a post published early Tuesday morning on Truth Social.
Trump said “radical left lunatics” are “illegally and collusively” boycotting Tesla, which the president described as one of the best automakers in the world. This action, Trump said, was meant as an attack on Musk and what he stands for.
It is not illegal for consumers to boycott companies. The Supreme Court in 1982 ruled the First Amendment protects Americans’ rights to protest private businesses.
And here’s where we’ll remind you once again that both Trump and Musk are self-ascribed “free speech warriors.” Which is a really funny claim to make of two men who have shown more disdain for free speech than anyone else, while co-running an administration that is the most censorial ever.
But the real danger in all of this is that, while Trump can’t currently punish the free public for protesting, it’s obvious he wants to. Which means he, at least, is no longer operating under the illusion that it’s a democracy he wants. Nor a republic.
This instead is something like authoritarian capitalism.
Filed Under: boycotts, donald trump, elon musk, free speech
Companies: tesla
Comments on “Trump Claims Boycotting Tesla Is Illegal, Which It Very Much Is Not”
Of course President Musk thinks its illegal to protest President Musks businesses. I mean that’s what he told Former President Trump to say when asked Frm President Trump for his weekly “List 5 things you did this week”
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I’m surprised that ol’ retro Don doesn’t think that EV’s are a newfangled “woke” contraption that causes cancer.
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He doesn’t have to. The rest of the GOP does that. Hell, I’d bet good money that the only reason conservative voters buy a Tesla of any kind is to “support” Trump’s co-president.
Not so sure
“And Tesla’s stock will surely rise at some point.”
Tesla stock value was always based on air. The price of the stock would make it worth more than the 5 biggest carmakers together. If you want to be nasty, you could say that quintessentially it’s a meme stock.
From an investor standpoint you would defend those prices as a bet on the future of the company. Which is a big bet but, okay. However, now, due to Musk’s antics, the brand (a huge part of a company’s goodwill) is basically toxic. Besides that, sales are dropping like a stone and not even a Trump commercial can fix that. Seeing the reason for the drop it will make it worse probably.
So, the future of the company is looking bleak. Any sane investor would look for the exit. Not sure that can be fixed.
Maybe Musk can sell it to Greenpeace or the Dalai Lama?
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And many investors are. Multiple private retirement companies in my country are dumping Tesla as a retirement investment stock.
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OTOH, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.
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How exactly will anyone become “insolvent” by not buying Tesla stock?
That’s not how anything works.
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The phrase was in the contexy of shorting stocks. If you are trying to short a “bad idea”, in order to stay solvent and make money you don’t just need to know that it will fail but also when it will fail.
Re: we can always hope
For this to be reasonable, the company should have a plan to start paying dividends. Given the stock price, it should be a plan to pay really big dividends.
Musk has ruined Tesla in multiple ways. He became toxic by associating/enabling nazis (note that he was this piece of shit previously but now he is empowered and emboldened). He promoted a business culture that’s abusive, bigoted and overall shitty. He used his position to illegally speculate with Tesla stocks. He ignored the company main business and pursued tangentially related subjects leaving their core products outdated. He privileged a niche part of Tesla customers and potential customers that is generally a bunch of assholes and bring toxicity and aversion to the brand.
I wonder if the myth of his ingenuity is still worth anything. Because it’s quite clear that it’s his money hiring smart people, not that he is a genius.
Cheeto face says a lotta things
Not buying one, eeeeewwww, I’m on a watch list!
There is no world that exists in potentially infinite universes where Tesla is a good car manufacturer, let alone the best in the world.
I’m never bought a Tesla. They have long looked like security nightmares to me.
I also don’t need another car at this time.
Does that make me a “criminal” in Trump-world?
He technically can’t, but show me where that’s ever stopped him from trying to (or succeeding in) breaking a law he doesn’t like.
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In other words: Trump technically can punish people. It just wouldn’t be legal.
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Again: Show me where that would stop him.
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*whooooooooooosh!*
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Sorry, but the correct onomatopoeia for Sonic the Hedgehog running is “nyoom”.
Try again! Try again! Try again! Try again?
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That person was (at least mostly) agreeing with you.
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Fair point; my bad.
MAKE BILLIONAIRES EXTINCT!
There is no reason billionaires should exist. The tax laws should make it impossible to attain that kind of wealth. Much like it is, effectively, impossible to attain the speed of light (mass increases the closer to light speed making it effectively impossible), so should taxation on wealth increase exponentially.
MAKE BILLIONAIRES EXTINCT!
No, no and very no!
Boycotting Twitter and Tesla is ILLEGAL!
Koby agree with me.
Right? Koby? You’re here?
Damn it, the first time anybody needs you, you spreading non sense on another article!
Listening Trump talking about laws is pretty much like listening Musk talking about efficiency, you know it’ll be much entertaining even if after two minutes, you’ve admitted you’ve ever heard so much bullshit.
What is he going to do force everyone to buy an EV (Tesla)? I feel like his oil company buddies would disapprove. This makes my brain hurt.
Up is Down
Wait, it was ok to boycott Bud Light because a trans person was shown drinking one for 30 seconds but boycotting a company because its CEO is systematically destroying our civic structure is not ok?
Maybe we need to get as many trans people as possible to video themselves driving Teslas. It will, at the very least, confuse the heck out of the right.
Protest Tesla in Style
But protesting Tesla while holding, but not drinking, a Bud Light would just about cancel out as neutral.
He wants people to buy his paymaster’s cars, at the same time he’s slashing funding for building the infrastructure to charge them… Alrighty then.
Couldn’t sell wine
Couldn’t sell steaks
Bankrupted an airline
Bankrupted a casino
Couldn’t sell water
Video game died and went out of circulation
Magazine went out of business
Mortgage business collapsed
Perfume business stunk
Vodka business staggered into oblivion
Matress become unSertafied
But now he’s gonna sell cars
Because Elongater is a genius
All very stable
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Add to the list: Bullied his way into Home Alone 2 (he denies it, of course, but his word is worth nothing now).
Trump should have bought an orange Tesla for driving around the White-house lawn. It would have been a better match.
‘“I’m for electric cars. I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” Trump said during an August rally in Atlanta. ‘
“He suggested that promoting electric vehicles “was the idea of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, & Communists” and that “Within 3 years, all of these cars will be made in China.”
At least it’s now clear that Elon is a Radical Left Fascist, Marxist, & Communist.
It would be deliciously ironic if the DDOS attach was implemented over StarLink. But I would bet that the capacity and latency would not support that.
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It might… if you could infect the satellites themselves.
Can anybody say “felony interference in a business model”?
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“I can! I can!” — the Prenda people, probably
i just wanted to say thanks – i’ve not heard the word fugazi in so many years. Perfect place for it.
Maybe Melon Husk could sell Tesla to Greenland, then Trump could give it back to him after he
invadesacquires Greenland as the 52 state.“history’s most successful democracy”? Sorry, but you need to read more history. Both US history and non-US history.
The Supreme Court in 1982 ruled the First Amendment protects Americans’ rights to protest private businesses.
Unless you are a government contractor, or receive government grants, or have been invited to give a speech at a public university, or you otherwise receive any (non-entitlement) consideration from the government or any associated entity. Then you better hope the governmnt approves of your boycott, because the first amendment certainly doesn’t.
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No, child.
None of that has any impact on the First Amendment.
You may be frightened of the right to free speech. The law is not.