They love their cars, but they’re embarrassed by the man who made them. For years, Musk has vexed the Tesla community with his defiance of Covid protocols in his factories, his bumpy takeover of Twitter,

On a Saturday morning in December 2022, Elon Musk summoned finance executives at Twitter, which he had bought six weeks earlier, to a conference call. Then he drilled into a spreadsheet that contained the social media company’s expenditures.

Musk has emerged as a prominent member of Trump's inner circle. Tesla has lobbied for electric vehicle subsidies and other benefits over the years.