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Some Tesla owners are embarrassed by Elon Musk's very public support for Donald Trump — and one Etsy seller has found a way to cash in.
Matthew Hiller works in the gift shop of Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu but also has a side hustle in the form of Mad Puffer Stickers that calls itself "Etsy's #1 Shop For Tesla Drivers!"
Some of the stickers and magnets available on his Etsy store have slogans such as "I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy" in all-capital letters, and another that reads: "Anti Elon Tesla Club."
The latter item measures four inches by five inches, costs $339.80 and was bought by 13 people in the past 24 hours as of Thursday. It's suitable for the Tesla Model X, Y, 3 and Cybertruck.
Hiller told The New York Times he used to sell between five and 10 a day, but interest jumped significantly after Musk ramped up his support for Trump ahead of the election. He said he's now sold about 18,000 stickers to buyers in 30 countries.
Hiller had once considered buying a Tesla. Following Musk's takeover of Twitter, now X, he told the Times of his concern about what he called misinformation on the social media platform.
"So I'm like, there's no way I'm buying a Tesla: I don't want to give this guy a penny," he said.
That led Hiller to think some Telsa owners would not "want to endorse anything this guy stands for," and inspired him to add the "I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy" sticker. One buyer of that item commented: "Love the car ... can't deal with Musk."
It sits alongside more lighthearted items on Mad Puffer Stickers such as "Don't Talk To Me, I'm a Fishtrovert," and "Eighters Gonna Eight" with an image of an octopus.
MadPufferStickers
Business Insider reported in November that seven current and would-be Tesla owners said they were actively planning or considering selling their vehicles or Tesla shares, or that they were done buying the brand after years of believing in Musk and his EV maker.
Hiller did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
