- Sen. Mark Kelly sold his Tesla, saying he could no longer stand the association with Elon Musk.
- The ex-astronaut has chosen a Chevy Tahoe as his new ride.
- Kelly and Musk once had a friendly relationship, but it has collapsed recently.
Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on Friday became one of the highest profile figures yet to ditch his Tesla in favor of a new ride, channeling the growing backlash against billionaire Elon Musk.
"Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole," Kelly, a Democrat, said in a video posted on X, explaining why he sold his car. "And I don't want to be driving a car built and designed by an asshole."
Kelly pulled up to Senate votes on Friday in front of the US Capitol in a 2025 Chevy Tahoe Z71, a spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. Unlike his former Tesla, it is an all-gas vehicle. It gets an estimated 15 miles per gallon city, 20 mpg highway, and 17 mpg combined.
Chevy Tahoes are manufactured in Texas.
Tesla is increasingly bearing the brunt of Musk's rapidly declining popularity. Tesla shares are down more than 50% from their highs, and protests are hitting showrooms across the country. It's unmistakable that the company is paying the price for Musk's ties to the White House DOGE office.
Musk serves as the de facto leader of DOGE, which has targeted government offices for layoffs. Musk previously claimed credit for dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID), saying he fed it into "the woodchipper."
Trump made a show of buying a Tesla earlier this week, showcasing a variety of the automaker's vehicles at the White House.
Kelly once got along with Musk. The former NASA astronaut has repeatedly praised the private space sector, which Musk's SpaceX remains a dominant force in. The pair's relationship has soured in recent weeks. Musk recently called Kelly, a Navy veteran, a "traitor" for visiting Ukraine.
"The only oath I can think of that maybe Elon has sworn is an oath to his own checking account, to his pocketbook, an oath, maybe, to ruining the lives of veterans," Kelly later said during an interview on MSNBC.
According to YouGov, views of Tesla have plummeted since Musk entered the Trump administration. Public sentiment of the automaker is the worst it has been since the polling firm began tracking it in 2016, per data obtained by Sherwood.
