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Tesla faces boycott as Malaysians link Musk’s support for Trump to Gaza plan
The backlash highlights the potential impact of Musk’s political involvement on Tesla’s business, particularly in a region with strong pro-Palestinian sentiment
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Tesla faces mounting boycott calls in Malaysia in protest against the support its CEO Elon Musk has shown to US President Donald Trump, who has triggered anger over a controversial plan regarding Gaza, which could displace millions of Palestinians.
Malaysians pulled no punches on social media in response to Tesla’s launch of its latest Model Y “Juniper” this week, branding it a “swasticar” – a term which emerged in Europe after Musk’s hand gestures during Trump’s inauguration last month, which many perceived as resembling a Nazi salute.
“Not touching this swasticar,” read a comment by Adnan Abdullah to a Facebook post by a local car review site regarding Tuesday’s Model Y launch.
Musk, the world’s richest man, denied the gesture had any such connotations, saying in a post on X that his critics “need better dirty tricks” and calling comparisons to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “sooo tired”.
But activists in London pasted stickers with the line “Don’t buy a swasticar” on hundreds of Teslas in the city to raise funds for antifascist causes, according to a Newsweek report.
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