Summary
Democratic Senator and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly announced he’s getting rid of his Tesla, citing owner Elon Musk’s role in federal budget cuts and social program reductions.
Kelly said the car reminds him of “how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country” and stated he doesn’t want to drive a car “built and designed by an asshole.”
The decision follows a clash where Musk called Kelly a “traitor” over Ukraine-related comments.
Kelly’s move joins others like singer Sheryl Crow in boycotting Tesla, as Musk’s political involvement has triggered sales declines, boycotts, and vandalism against the company.
In 21 you could have gotten some of the first Ford Mustang MachEs to come off the line, if you were lucky. Chevy was doing ok with the bolt, but I’ve never personally liked the style of the bolt. Leafs were another OK model specifically for commuting, but IIRC Kelly lives in Tucson and if he was making regular trips to Phoenix a leaf wouldn’t have cut it. Polestar was available, but relatively unknown. And I think a few luxury brands had EVs at that point. So yes there were other EV players, but “strong” is a subjective term, unless you were doing a fair amount of research you likely wouldn’t have known about them.
Only two of what you mentioned are American brands, which is probably pretty relevant for a Senator to consider.