Anti-Tesla protests have been staged across the US and elsewhere since the company's far-right owner funded the re-election campaign of now US President Donald Trump. — dpa
NEW YORK: Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow ‘s public protest against Elon Musk ‘s electric car company, while applauded by critics of the tech billionaire, didn’t gain her any fans within the US Republican party — most notably Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer went viral over the last weekend after she posted a video to Instagram showing her waving to a truck hauling away her Tesla.
Anti-Tesla protests have been staged across the US and elsewhere since the company's far-right owner funded the re-election campaign of now US President Donald Trump and appeared to do a Nazi salute in a speech on inauguration day.
“My parents always said… you are who you hang out with. There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla,” Crow wrote in the caption of the clip.
Crow added that the money she made from the sale of the vehicle had been donated to US public broadcaster NPR, “which is under threat by President Musk, in hopes that the truth will continue to find its way to those willing to know the truth.”
Crow’s social media post was in reaction to the billionaire’s sweeping effort to dismantle several government agencies with Trump’s blessing, in an effort to cut federal spending as the alleged head of the Department of Government Efficiency .
While her post amassed nearly 222,000 likes, Kennedy — a staunch supporter of the polarising MAGA leaders — didn’t mince words in his reaction to her releasing it.
“I think she means well, but if she ever had a clever thought, it died alone and afraid,” he told political pundit Sean Hannity, who then praised the 73-year-old legislator for having “the best reaction you could ever want.”
In another Instagram post on Monday, Crow weighed in on the controversy her donation sparked, admitting that she “did not expect that video to take off” the way it had.
For her critics, the 63-year-old Grammy winner said: “My intention is to support causes I care about, and to make my voice be heard.”
Some commenters have questioned the timing of her decision to sell her Tesla and suggested that Crow's video may have been filmed in autumn and only posted later, pointing to brown tree leaves seen on the ground.
Crow did not specify when the video was filmed.
