A Tesla fan who’s had his car for three years is getting more than he bargained for since the company’s owner stepped further into the spotlight.
Elon Musk has drawn criticism in recent months after campaigning for Donald Trump to be re-elected to the White House last year.
Since then, Trump appointed him as leader of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency – and Musk hasn’t kept his views quiet since taking up the role.
Even his own labour of love, the Grok AI chatbot, has named him as one of the largest spreaders of misinformation on X, the social media platform he bought in 2022.
And amid the controversy, one Tesla driver has been laughed at and even sent death threats for his choice of car.
He’s not the only person who’s faced abuse for their choice of car, as there’s been a spate of Cyber Trucks and other models being vandalised across the globe in response to Musk’s actions.
Mitchell Feldman bought his Model Y worth £44,000 back in 2022, saying he loved the car’s technology and safety features.
The 53-year-old dad of two said he would occasionally get comments about driving a Tesla, but nothing out of the ordinary – until Elon entered the White House.
Mitchell, who owns a marketing business, says he’s received emails through his company website threatening him and his family over the car he drives.
Two weeks ago, Mitchell was in a car park when a man walked up to him, laughed in his face, and asked if he ‘supported Elon’ by driving a Tesla’.
Mitchell, from north west London, said: ‘I have had everything from quite severe hate mail, people saying that when they find me they will kill me and my family in front of me.
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‘I’ve had a number of people saying that I’m brave, that I am saying what everyone else is thinking.
‘But I have been completely shocked by the reaction I have received.
‘There’s a massive polarization in views, there are those that admire Elon Musk, and there are those that don’t.
‘There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground, it is very binary.’
Describing the car park incident, Mitchell said he’d just pulled up to park at a Teddy Swims concert in Wembley when he spotted a young man pointing and laughing.
‘I parked outside the parking meter, as I pulled up, there was a youngish guy with his partner, and daughter laughing and pointing at me,’ he explained.
‘When I got out of the car, he came up to be quite abrasive and said “I presume you support Elon Musk driving one of those”.
‘I felt quite violated, I didn’t know what to say. He then laughed at me and walked away with his family.
‘I had never experienced anything like that.’
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Shocked by the outburst, Mitchell wrote about the run-in on LinkedIn where he says he received even more backlash and death threats in response.
But despite everything, Mitchell said his support for Tesla remains ‘steadfast’ and is planning on putting in an order for a new Model Y.
He joked: ‘I am waiting for a phone call from Elon Musk to say thank you for the post and here is a free Cyber Truck.
‘If anything, it has made me more steadfast in my support.’
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