Former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza revealed that his Tesla was vandalized during a weekend soccer tournament, which included a handwritten sign accusing Elon Musk of being a Nazi.
Cillizza’s vehicle was vandalized while he was attending his son’s game.
“So this is the first time I’ve experienced the sort of politics of Elon Musk and Tesla,” Cillizza wrote on his Substack newsletter.
Cillizza explained that when he initially bought the car, he was more concerned that MAGA supporters might vandalize it due to its strong association with progressive values.
“The big concern I had—because this was the big thing that was happening—was sort of pro-MAGA people keying the car or smashing it…because America is about, like, real engines, not electric cars,” he said.
“That was the perception back then, right? It was like you’re coding yourself as, like, an enviro-liberal-wacko-communist if you bought a Tesla.”
However, Cillizza was forced to admit it was not conservatives who ultimately targeted his vehicle.
“It is amazing to me that five-ish years on, I am getting this on my car because Elon Musk has now become sort of persona non grata for the non-MAGA crowd,” he said.
Musk’s endorsement of President Donald Trump has made him a target in progressive circles that once championed Tesla as a symbol of green innovation.
Cillizza acknowledged the brand’s shift in public perception, recalling a similar cultural backlash he received after tweeting about eating at Chick-fil-A.
“I hope the hate tastes good,” was one of the responses he said he received at the time.
Despite progressive criticism, Chick-fil-A ranked 26th in this year’s Axios/Harris poll, well ahead of Tesla.
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