Rage Against The Machine Truck

 I am not condoning threats. But I do want to see Elmo spin this as a positive for Tesla:

Dr. Kumait Jaroje said someone put a profane sticker on his gold Cybertruck back on February 7 in Worcester. When he posted a photo of it on social media he told police he started getting threats online. 

Jaroje said the hate is having an impact on his family and his business, so he filed a report with Worcester Police. They are now investigating the threats. 

"Anxious and nervous about our safety and my kids' safety as well," Jaroje told WBZ-TV Tuesday. His wife found the sticker Friday morning. 

"She was horrified. She was, like, crying, screaming out of her throat, 'I will never drive that Cybertruck anymore,'" Jaroje said. 

When he posted what happened on social media, Jaroje said even more hate and debate flooded his page. He told WBZ the harassment started after Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed President Donald Trump. Musk is now the head of the president's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Threats are reprehensible. But then, so is Tesla:

Jaroje was so worried he tried to trade in the Cybertruck, but with no luck. He said he received a call and a text from a Tesla representative saying the company can't take the truck back, even after sending them the hateful sticker. 

"He confirmed with the text message that Tesla is not accepting Cybertruck trade-ins at this moment," Jaroje said. He hopes the community will set aside judgment and be open to differences.

The doctor is right:

"It's not just about what happened to me. It's about everyone in this country. If you disagree, don't retaliate. Don't be violent. Don't try to hurt your neighbor. We're all human," he told WBZ.

But I had no idea the Tesla brand was so toxic. I’ve seen Cybertrucks and thought they were stupid cars. But then, I feel that way about raised four wheel drive pickups with cast iron bumpers and shiny mudflaps and ornately off-road tires that…never leave the road or get within ten miles of a ranch or a farm. I don’t run either on of them off the road so I can flip off the driver (the owner of the Cybertruck says that happened to him). At this point I’d say Musk is about as popular as cancer. (Which means Alyssa Farrah Griffin’s analysis of Musk in the Oval Office presser is right: Trump was letting the unpopular Musk be the heat shield, the person responsible for what people don’t like about what Trump is doing.)

No wonder Tesla stock is tanking. I’m not sure a boycott is needed to express rage at Musk. Pretty sure that rage is already being communicated. (Also pretty sure Musk is about to tank, and Trump is pushing him out of the airplane.)