What's Up With All The Backlash Against Tesla Lately? The Tesla Vandalism And Stock Price Crash Explained

Tesla's had its fair share of drama over the years from Autopilot mishaps and Cyberstuck memes to the Tesla Cult — just to name a few that come to mind.

But in 2025, the company is facing a whole new brand of chaos, and its CEO Elon Musk arguably tweeting like he's speedrunning a PR crisis isn't helping.

Fears about $TSLA stock tanking had investors sweating bullets over margin calls this past week, all while Tesla dealerships became the hot new canvas for anti-Musk graffiti and vandalism across the country.

So what’s going on? Is this just another bump in the road for the EV giant or the beginning of something bigger? Let’s break down the backlash, memes and discourse going around the internet lately.

What's With All The News About Tesla Stock Crashing?

Since December 2024, Tesla’s stock has been on a brutal downward spiral, losing over 50 percent of its value in just three months. By March 18th, the stock price had fallen to $222.75, a far cry from its December highs.

With Tesla’s market value plummeting by more than $700 billion, analysts began discussing the possibility of a margin call, especially for investors, including Musk himself, who had leveraged Tesla shares as collateral for loans.

Kimbal Musk and other key shareholders recently began offloading their shares, fueling speculation that Tesla’s financial situation could be more dire than expected.

What's With All The News About Tesla Dealerships And Charging Stations Getting Attacked?

As Tesla’s stock dropped, its dealerships and charging stations seemed to be dropping into chaos too. In early March, a wave of vandalism hit Tesla properties across the U.S. Charging stations in Massachusetts were set on fire, a Tesla dealership in Oregon was shot up (twice), and Cybertrucks became prime targets for defacement in numerous cities.

Theories quickly spread that these attacks weren’t just random acts of vandalism but were linked to the growing backlash against Musk’s increasing involvement in government affairs.

His role in the Trump administration, particularly his involvement with D.O.G.E., had already alienated a significant portion of Tesla’s once-loyal environmentally conscious and largely liberal customer base.

How Has Elon Musk Responded To The News About His EV Company Being Attacked?

Elon Musk didn’t exactly lay low during the chaos surrounding his car company. Instead, he doubled down with a high-profile appearance at the White House, during which President Trump showcased a fleet of Teslas on the South Lawn in an attempt to signal support for the struggling EV giant.

The event, which was widely covered by the media, quickly became meme fodder when Trump declared, "Everything's Computer" while inspecting a Model Y.

President realDonaldTrump and elonmusk hop in a Tesla! pic.twitter.com/NRRm7IEQGf

— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) March 11, 2025

Not long after, Musk made his own media rounds, appearing on Fox News to push back against the growing criticism, lamenting, "I always thought that Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy … I’ve never done anything harmful, I’ve only done productive things."

Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the unprecedented decision to urge Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock.

Musk: I always thought that Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy.. I’ve never done anything harmful, I’ve only done productive things: this doesn't make any sense. I think there are larger forces at work. pic.twitter.com/9U3MqiJvcE

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 19, 2025

How Did Internet Users React To All The Tesla Hate?

Some users expressed shock at the rapid stock decline, while others, particularly many Musk critics, reveled in the chaos.

For instance, X user @PrezLives2022 gleefully pointed out earlier this week that Musk was inching closer to a margin call, racking up 45,000 likes in a day.

Meanwhile, Reddit was flooded with memes mocking the situation, with one particularly popular post featuring Peter Parker Crying over S&P dips but smiling at Tesla’s plummeting stock price.

Even public figures joined in on the fun, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posting a video captioned, "If you need a little boost during the day, check out Tesla stock 📉," a jab that quickly went viral.

If you need a little boost during the day, check out Tesla stock 📉 pic.twitter.com/KBEh6pOZLW

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) March 19, 2025

Still, not everyone was buying into the Tesla hate. In late March, Elon Musk shared a video of a young man calling the Tesla hate "forced" and listing off all the ways his life has been made easy by owning one.

pic.twitter.com/37NbW4bvnI

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 20, 2025

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For the full history of the 2025 Tesla Stock Crash, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.