‘I wanted to do something’: Ga. Tesla owner removes decals
ATLANTA, Ga. - On Tuesday, President Donald Trump stepped into a new Tesla outside of the White House, alongside Tesla owner Elon Musk.
In Atlanta, Paul Rankin took off the decals on his Tesla in protest of Musk.
“I took a heat gun. Then I just took my finger and I pulled it off,” said Rankin. “I took off the badges, the Tesla badges as a protest because Elon Musk is not an elected official.”
Rankin said he also took off the decals after repeated reports of Tesla’s being targeted for vandalism nationwide.
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“I wanted to do something. I’m micro-empowered, because it’s almost nothing that I’ve done. But yeah, it makes me feel like I’m doing something. From a psychological standpoint, I did a little, I did my part,” Rankin said.
This month, protests happened outside Tesla dealerships in Decatur and Alpharetta.
Early Tuesday, President Trump characterized protesters as “Radical Left Lunatics.” He said they were being conducted “illegally.”
Tesla stock ended closed up nearly 4% on Tuesday after one of the worst single day sell-offs in Tesla’s history a day earlier.
On Tuesday afternoon, Atlanta News First spoke with Tesla owners at a Tucker charging station.
SCDOT eyes law change that would impact how much EV drivers owe state
South Carolina’s gas tax is at its peak, and a substantial amount of money in recent state budgets has gone toward road work.
“I love this car, but a lot of people ask me all the time or I get evil looks like, ‘Why you got a Tesla or you Elon Musk?’ And my response is, I bought my car before ‘Musk’y was ‘Musk’ying,” said LaToysha Burton, a Tesla owner from Covington.
Like Burton, others said they separate the politics from their ownership of a Tesla.
“Me, it’s more about the car and what I need from it. Because at the end of the day, with the politics, you can’t really change anything,” said another Tesla owner named Pok, who lives in Chamblee-Tucker.
Rankin said he plans to offer his services to remove Tesla decals to other Tesla owners.
“It’s a great car, it’s unfortunate [Musk] is not a great person,” Rankin said.
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