Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has explained why he decided to sell his Tesla following Elon Musk’s ‘Hitler salute’ at Donald Trump‘s inauguration.
The politician sold his Tesla three weeks after the hugely controversial gesture from Musk, saying he ‘felt dirty’ every time he drove it afterwards.
Speaking to the National, Cole-Hamilton said: “He did the Hitler salute at the inauguration, and I thought ‘I can’t consciously drive this anymore’. It’s not virtue signalling; it’s just a general disgust at it. Every time I had to drive somewhere I was feeling dirty.”
He explained that when he first bought the car in 2019, Musk wasn’t involved in politics and “was a different person.”
However, the Lib Dem said Musk and US president Trump – who appointed the Tesla CEO as head of the US department of government efficiency – make him feel things that “go far beyond just changing little things about my daily living.”
“The executive orders, the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency or whatever it’s called, that Musk has presided over it, offend me on a daily basis,” he told the National.
“We should all be offended by all of it because it’s attacking minorities. It’s attacking inclusivity, diversity.”
After an election campaign where Musk was key figure and vocal supporter of Trump, the billionaire managed to insert himself front and centre in the Republican’s second term as president.
In charge of the efficiency department, coined DOGE, Musk have overseen sweeping cuts in US government. This has included causing chaos for millions who rely on Social Security, and shuttering USAID, the department that provided aid and support to causes across the globe.
This, combined with Musk’s large-scale support for far-right parties, has prompted a widespread backlash against him across western countries. The form this has largely taken is a boycott of Tesla and protests at dealerships across Europe and the US.
The company has seen its shares plummet this year (following an all-time high in December) whilst sales have gone through the floor in a number of countries. Most recently, it was revealed that Tesla’s April sales in the UK had dropped by 62% compared to the same month in 2024.
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