Theo Leggett
Ben is a staunch electric car advocate. He runs a communications firm that promotes sustainable businesses in the UK. Yet now, he says, the Model Y has to go – because he disapproves vehemently of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's actions, especially the way he has handled firing US government employees.
"I'm not a fan of polarisation, or of doing things without kindness," he says. "There are ways of doing things that don't ostracise people or belittle them. I don't like belittlement."
Ben is part of a wider backlash against the Tesla boss that appears to have been gathering momentum in recent weeks, since Musk was appointed head of the controversial Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), charged with taking an axe to federal government spending.
Musk has also intervened in politics abroad, making a video appearance at a rally for the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland ahead of Germany's parliamentary election, as well as launching online attacks on British politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
For some who do not share his views, it has all become too much.
There have been protests outside dozens of Tesla dealerships, not only in the US, but also in Canada, the UK, Germany and Portugal.
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