In recent months, more and more Tesla owners have put stickers on their cars to show their dissatisfaction with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his work in the Trump administration.
Matthew Hiller, owner of the online store MadPufferStickers, started selling a sticker in his store in 2023 that reads "I bought this car before I knew Elon was crazy" after becoming frustrated with the way Musk managed X.
"(Musk) has become a bully to some extent and spreads false information to some extent. Because of this, I don't want to have anything to do with him or his brand."
Hiller works at an aquarium in Hawaii and originally just sold fish stickers on his online store as a side job. A few years ago, he considered buying a Tesla.
"I think they're cool. I like the technology, and I like the fact that they're good for the environment," Hiller said.
But he ultimately decided not to buy it and began selling anti-Musk stickers to Tesla owners who shared his sentiments.
"I mean, there are things that are bigger than technology, like, I don't want to support someone who is so opposed to me and my beliefs," Shiller said. "It's a choice, and I don't want to be misunderstood as someone who supports him or agrees with him."
Since then, he has added more stickers, including "Anti Elon Tesla Club," "Elon killed my resale value" and "Elon is a dogebag."
Sales of such stickers began to soar around the time Musk became a member of Trump's presidential campaign team. Shiller said his online store made more than $100,000 in 30 days from January to February.
He added that he has sold 70,000 stickers and magnets on Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Redbubble.
A poll this month showed that about half of Americans have a negative view of Tesla and Musk. Shiller's sticker sales reflect public sentiment toward Musk, as well as Tesla's sharp decline in sales.
The company's automotive revenue fell 20% year-over-year in the first quarter. Tesla blamed factors such as customers waiting for the new Model Y, but industry analysts said it was also related to customers' views of Musk, especially his actions to cut government spending at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Shiller said the surge in sticker sales is related to Musk's frequent appearances in the news. When Musk appeared on stage at Trump rallies, he said he went from selling 50 to 100 stickers a day to selling hundreds a day. In January, when Musk made a gesture reminiscent of the Nazi salute at Trump's inauguration, Shiller said sales reached 500 a day.
Shiller has also heard that some customers who are not necessarily opposed to Musk have begun using the stickers to protect themselves after a series of attacks on Tesla cars and dealerships.
"Occasionally someone will buy a sticker from my Etsy shop as a gift, and along with the gift, they'll write a little note to the recipient," Shiller said. "Occasionally I'll look at the note and see it says, 'Happy birthday, from my dad. This is to protect you on the streets of Los Angeles.'"
He also said the popularity of anti-Musk stickers wasn't just a blue-state phenomenon.
"I would track what city they were coming from. Of course, I saw a lot of California, San Francisco is big, and New York, a lot of blue states. But then, over time, with the Elon thing, everything was evolving, I started seeing every state, you know, Oklahoma, Missouri, Montana. I started having customers from Puerto Rico. It wasn't limited to the U.S., either. I've shipped so many to so many countries, I've lost track."
Shiller said he didn't want to leave his job at the aquarium to sell stickers full-time.
"If (this business) ended tomorrow, I'd be totally fine with it," he said. "You know, I'm not planning on doing that. It's certainly not my business plan going forward. I mean, it's not a good business plan to bet on a billionaire who's always annoying."
