Tesla Robotaxis Taking Over Hollywood Lots, Infuriating Actors

While sitting down with The Hollywood Reporter, Environmental Media Association CEO Debbie Levin explained that the once highly sought-after Tesla brand has become something of a scarlet letter for drivers in Los Angeles. This is due in large part to Musk’s outspoken opinions about politics, transgender rights, and his self-described tirade against a so-called “woke mind virus,” which he believes to have permeated the entertainment industry.

Despite the high volume of Tesla vehicles throughout Hollywood, many actors have made it clear that they want nothing to do with the Tesla robotaxis when they roll out on the Warner Bros lot next week.

Elon Musk is also said to be quite close with controversial Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, which compounds the distaste that members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions have for the Tesla robotaxis. Zaslav was a notable holdout during the dual entertainment industry strikes of 2023, and has also garnered a lot of bad press for his decision to deplatform several long-awaited products, seemingly as tax write-offs.

Fully completed and highly-anticipated films such as Batgirl and Coyote Vs. Acme were scrapped before release under Zaslav’s watch, while beloved shows like Infinity Train were stripped of their streaming privileges for seemingly no cause.

Warner Bros execs refused to comment about the rollout of the Tesla robotaxis when prompted by reporters, though the rumor mill states that these canary yellow vehicles will be zipping through the lots and back alleys of Los Angeles county as soon as October 10.

Auto Pacific chief analyst Ed Kim seems to agree with Levin’s assessment that Teslas are no longer the “it” car in Hollywood, explaining that “we have seen sales drop significantly at Tesla this year… EV sales are still growing… But Tesla is actually losing sales. In fact, Tesla is one of the few EV makers that has been losing volume, not just losing market share.”

While some have been quick to malign Hollywood’s distaste for the Tesla robotaxis as a sign of actors’ overwhelmingly liberal-leaning politics, it’s easy to see why Elon Musk would inspire such vitriol. If you’ve spent any time on X (formerly Twitter) lately, you’ll see that his bizarre political opinions are not simply relegated to his outspoken support of right-wing presidential candidate and 34-time convicted felon Donald Trump.

Musk also has a penchant for sharing blatantly racist, islamophobic, and antisemitic conspiracy theories, some of which have landed the billionaire in hot water with watchdog activist groups.

This means that even if these A-list actors have right-leaning politics of their own, associating with the Tesla brand could cause them to lose friends in marginalized communities, as it could be seen as a tacit co-signing of Musk’s fringe views.

Still, it’s not likely that a single ride in a Tesla Robotaxi will be enough to ostracize the average person from the general public, especially as they begin to overflow and overrun the studio lots. For now, only time will tell how Tesla can overcome its Elon Musk problem.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter