Australian city overwhelmingly opposes Musk’s land deal for a Tesla factory

Residents of Marion, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia, have overwhelmingly rejected plans to sell 2,664 m² of contaminated public land to Tesla for a proposed battery manufacturing facility.

In a recent council consultation that attracted 948 submissions, 95% urged authorities to abandon the deal, highlighting deep-seated opposition not only to the project’s environmental impacts but also to Tesla’s outspoken CEO, Elon Musk.

Residents spew bile at Musk and his Tesla

The council’s own report had argued the development would bring significant benefits like 100 permanent jobs, increased rating revenues, an estimated $56 million in economic output and specialized “Tesla-led” training programs.

Yet nearly all respondents dismissed these promises, voicing concerns over loss of green space and decrying Musk’s global influence, particularly his high-profile political interventions and social-media provocations, as more troubling than any local advantage.

Many submissions were so scathing that the council redacted profanity. One contributor branded Musk “a [redacted] on humanity,” while another warned that chopping down trees to build a factory for “a [redacted] human” was morally indefensible.

Beyond ideological critiques, some residents framed their objections in personal terms: “Please, dear God, it’s going to wreck my roller-skating route,” one lamented.

Although over half of the comments came from outside Marion’s borders, those living nearest the proposed site opposed it by 121 to 11. Supporters of the sale praised the prospect of high-skilled apprenticeships and lauded Musk’s so-called “visionary approach,” believing that hosting the world’s richest individual would lift the local economy.

Mayor Kris Hanna acknowledged a mix of “natural” local reservations and an organized campaign to swell the ‘no’ vote. He noted a core group motivated by anti-fascist sentiment had directed its ire squarely at Musk and anything bearing his name.

Hanna was quick to point out, however, that if Marion spurns Tesla, the carmaker could simply relocate its investment to a more welcoming Australian community.

Opposition to Tesla’s plan mainly driven by Musk’s political involvement

The backlash in Marion reflects a broader regional trend since Donald Trump’s election four months ago. Tesla’s Australian sales have plunged by roughly 35%, according to the Electric Vehicle Council. Mirroring the downturn, dealerships across Australia and New Zealand have been defaced with anti-Musk graffiti, and in some cases vehicles have been deliberately damaged.

In Tasmania, a showroom was scrawled with slogans condemning the CEO’s politics, while in New Zealand, authorities arrested a man accused of vandalizing multiple Teslas.

Analysts attribute the slump to a branding crisis tied to Musk’s alignment with far-right figures and his role in forming the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration, a body criticized for imposing severe cuts to public services.

Tesla executives challenge these assessments, insisting that global economic headwinds and a softening auto market, rather than reputational issues, are behind recent profit declines.

Dozens of submissions pointed to Musk’s political gestures and his influence overseas. One writer, referencing a Reuters investigation, argued, “I could not think of a worse developer, Tesla’s sales are faltering, and protests will only bring unwanted negative attention.”

Others warned of local disruption, imagining demonstrations disturbing the peace of neighboring homes. Similar unease was reported in Europe, where Tesla was outpaced by BYD for the first time in April. The brand has recorded declines in the EU bloc, which is the second-largest market for electric vehicles after China.

For instance, recent reports showed that volumes dropped 59% to 863 cars in France for the month of April, while sales went down 81% to just 203 cars in Sweden, where there was a labor dispute between Tesla and the local IF Metall trade union.

In the Netherlands, the EV-making firm sold 382 cars during the month of April, representing a 74% decline. The script was the same in Switzerland, where only 227 cars were sold, representing a 50% drop.

Despite the public hostility, Tesla and South Australian agencies penned letters underscoring the site’s untapped potential, including turning neglected land into a hub for clean-energy innovation. A minority of locals agreed, suggesting the unused plot could benefit from industrial revitalization.

Nevertheless, council staff concluded that economic imperatives justify moving forward with the sale, scheduling the formal vote at Tuesday’s session to decide the land’s fate.

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