Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) says he’s looking for a “new ride” and is going to get rid of his Tesla, which he says was “built and designed by an a‑‑hole.”
“I’m here in Washington driving to work for the last time in my Tesla,” Kelly said in a video posted on the social platform X. “When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue.
“Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country. Talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors. It’s one bad thing after the next,” he said of Musk’s actions as the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Kelly also said Musk is firing veterans.
“I’m a veteran. So I have a really hard time driving around in this thing,” he said of his Tesla. “I think it’s time for an upgrade today.”
While he said there are some things he really liked about his Tesla and some things he didn’t like, “that doesn’t matter.”
“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an a‑‑hole, and I don’t want to be driving a car built and designed by an a‑‑hole. So, looking forward to my new ride,” he said.
Kelly announced he’s ditching his Tesla after Musk called him a “traitor” on social media for visiting Ukraine last weekend to see how Ukrainians were responding to Trump’s decisions to halt military aid and intelligence sharing to support its war against Russia.
Kelly bristled at that insult, telling MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” that “the only oath I can think of that maybe Elon has sworn is an oath to his own checking account, to his pocketbook.”
Tesla’s stock as slumped since the start of his year because of the angry backlash against Musk’s for leading President Trump’s slashing of federal departments and agencies.
Tesla’s share price has dropped by 34 percent since the start of the year.
Musk admitted Monday he’s having “great difficulty” running his businesses while he juggles his corporate responsibilities with his work at DOGE.
He told Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow he is working to “make government more efficiency” and claimed “we’re making good progress, actually.”