A recent report has revealed that Tesla drivers are feeling the brunt of anti-EV sentiments. The Tesla drivers observed that they tend to be heckled and dangerously cut off in traffic, among others.
Obscene Gestures and Road Rage
In a statement to The Guardian, Paul Albertson, who lives in Beaverton, Oregon, told of some disturbing experiences on the road. According to Albertson, rude drivers tend to roll coal on him or swerve into his lane, something that simply does not happen when he is driving his other cars, like a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. Most often, the drivers behind these acts are driving large pickup trucks, Albertson said. “Random rude drivers will swerve in my lane to yell at me or turn on a heavy diesel exhaust that blows black smoke,” he said.
Laura Kennedy, who also lives in Pennsylvania, has had similar experiences. “It’s almost always a guy in a pickup truck (who does something). I don’t think I’ve ever been flipped off in my life as much as I have in the past year or so,” Kennedy said. Theresa Ramsdell, who has owned two Teslas since 2016, noted that she’s had some scary experiences on the road as well.
“People cut us off on the freeway, give us the finger, yell at me through the windows. A couple of people have not exactly tried to push me off the road, but drive real close to the side of my car and smile. It’s happened to me twice going at 65 mph, and it’s scary,” Ramsdell said.
Even in California, where Teslas are very common, acts of road rage are reportedly still notable. A 22-year old man told The Guardian that while his Tesla has been one of the best things he’s purchased, he does experience road rage a lot.
“I noticed the road rage within the first week I got it. I’ll just be driving the same speed I had in my old Ford Fusion, but they’ll cut in front of me and drive really slow or prevent me from switching lanes. On city streets, I’ll go the speed limit, and cars leaving parking lots will decide to cut in, making me stomp on the brakes. That’s happened eight times this month,” the Tesla driver said.
Not a New Trend
The experiences of Tesla owners outlined by The Guardian have been happening for some time. Earlier this year, Axios Des Moines reached out to members of the Iowa Tesla Owners Club on social media. The publication received a lot of responses that suggest that Tesla drivers are experiencing a notable degree of aggravation from fellow drivers on the road.
Suzie Stewart of Des Moines shared that during a drive with her son last month, another driver made obscene gestures as they passed. The other driver then tailgated their Tesla without provocation. According to Stewart, she fears for her teenage son’s safety because he drives a Tesla, an ironic statement as Tesla’s electric vehicles consistently rank among the safest cars on the road.
Des Moines-based Uber driver Kyle Volz’s experiences are similar, though he noted that the anti-Tesla harassment becomes especially noticeable during weekends. Volz even noted that he believes one driver tried to run him off the road. Spencer Hall of Norwalk, Iowa, on the other hand, stated that drivers either try to intimidate him or challenge him to races. This happens multiple times a week.
Anti-EV, Anti-Musk
Electric Vehicle Association spokesperson and Tesla owner Marc Geller noted that anti-Tesla sentiments may be changing, and part of it may be due to CEO Elon Musk’s political inclinations. Geller noted that while anti-EV road rage traditionally came from far-right conservatives, Musk’s recent support for right-wing politicians may be causing some knee-jerk reactions from the far left as well.
“There’s an irony here in that Teslas have long been a hate magnet for various reasons. They were the subject of road rage because they represented the environment and were perceived as the vehicular embodiment of that culture war. But now here we are, and some folks on the left are having a knee-jerk reaction because Elon Musk has taken this ominous turn to the political right, so now they’re throwing the same bricks,” Geller said.
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Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Elon Musk has pushed back on claims that Starlink’s recent price reductions are tied to Amazon’s Kuiper project.
In a post on X, Musk responded directly to a report suggesting that Starlink was cutting prices and offering free hardware to partners ahead of a planned IPO and increased competition from Kuiper.
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “The lower the cost, the more Starlink can be used by people who don’t have much money, especially in the developing world.”
The speculation originated from a post summarizing a report from The Information, which ran with the headline “SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms.” The report stated that SpaceX is aggressively cutting prices and giving free hardware to distribution partners, which was interpreted as a reaction to Amazon’s Kuiper’s upcoming rollout and possible IPO.
In a way, Musk’s comments could be quite accurate considering Starlink’s current scale. The constellation currently has more than 9,700 satellites in operation today, making it by far the largest satellite broadband network in operation. It has also managed to grow its user base to 10 million active customers across more than 150 countries worldwide.
Amazon’s Kuiper, by comparison, has launched approximately 211 satellites to date, as per data from SatelliteMap.Space, some of which were launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink surpassed that number in early January 2020, during the early buildout of its first-generation network.
Lower pricing also aligns with Starlink’s broader expansion strategy. SpaceX continues to deploy satellites at a rapid pace using Falcon 9, and future launches aboard Starship are expected to significantly accelerate the constellation’s growth. A larger network improves capacity and global coverage, which can support a broader customer base.
In that context, price reductions can be viewed as a way to match expanding supply with growing demand. Musk’s companies have historically used aggressive pricing strategies to drive adoption at scale, particularly when vertical integration allows costs to decline over time.
News
Tesla Giga Berlin makes a statement of solidarity amid IG Metall conflict
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
Tesla Giga Berlin is sending a strong message of solidarity amid its ongoing legal dispute with German union IG Metall.
In a post on social media platform X, Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig shared an image of the facility’s lobby covered with a large banner that reads: “Progress. Innovation. Success.” He added that the slogan reflects what the facility has stood for since Day One.
“Our lobby at Giga Berlin covered in a huge banner these days. Progress. Innovation. Success – this is what we stand for since we started production in 2022 and how we will go into our future!” Thierig wrote in his post on X.
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
The dispute began after Tesla accused a union representative of secretly recording a works council meeting at Giga Berlin. Tesla stated that it filed a criminal complaint after the alleged incident. Police later confirmed they had seized a computer belonging to an IG Metall member as part of their investigation.
“What has happened today at Giga Berlin is truly beyond words! An external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting. For unknown reasons he recorded the internal meeting and was caught in action! We obviously called police and filed a criminal complaint!” Thierig wrote on X at the time.
IG Metall denied the accusation and characterized Tesla’s move as an election tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections. The union subsequently filed a defamation complaint against Thierig. Authorities later confirmed that an investigation had been opened in connection with the matter.
Giga Berlin began production in 2022 and has since become one of Tesla’s key European manufacturing hubs, producing the Model Y, the company’s best-selling vehicle. The facility has expanded capacity over the past years despite environmental protests, labor disputes, and regulatory scrutiny.
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
