SCOTTISH LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has sold his Tesla because of Elon Musk’s association with fascism.
The Tesla chief executive sparked global outrage last month after throwing multiple Nazi salutes at US president Donald Trump’s inauguration, leading to slumps in the firm’s car sales across the world.
On Wednesday, reports said that in January Tesla sales had seen a drop of 12% in the UK, a 63% drop in France, a 59% fall in Germany, a 44% drop in Sweden, a 42% fall in the Netherlands, and a 12% drop in California.
Writing on Instagram, Cole-Hamilton said he had off-loaded his Tesla.
“Sold my Tesla today after five years of ownership,” the LibDem MSP said.
“With Musk’s daily outrages, his butchery of respectful public discourse and his association with the fascist right, I could drive it no longer.
“I will never own another.”
Responding to the news on Twitter/X, Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden questioned if the SNP Government would “do the same” and shared figures showing the Scottish Government owns 10 Teslas.
Last month, The National asked First Minister John Swinney if his government would continue using Musk’s companies after his Nazi salutes.
He said: “I think we've got to create a distinction here between economic activities that we take forward which are the subject of due diligence – because we have to operate within the law and we cannot take decisions that cannot be legally supported.
“We've got to operate within the framework of the law, which will then govern many of any decisions that we take in relation to Starlink or Tesla.
“We've got to separate that from whatever we think about some of the conduct, stances, attitudes, and points put forward by Elon Musk.”
