Washington, D.C. – In a political shockwave that has sent both Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill into a frenzy, rising conservative firebrand Karoline Leavitt has officially filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce demanding the removal of Tesla retail stores from major U.S. cities, calling the electric vehicle brand “a dystopian symbol of Silicon Valley elitism, foreign manufacturing, and failed green dreams.”
“America doesn’t need mobile trash cans,” Leavitt declared at a press conference outside the Capitol.
“We need American-made strength, not cobalt-stained toys on wheels.”
Leavitt, a former Trump White House aide and vocal Gen Z conservative voice, accused Tesla and Elon Musk of promoting “environmental hypocrisy”, citing the outsourcing of battery components to China and the federal subsidies that keep the company afloat.
Leavitt’s Petition: Tech Accountability or Populist Stunt?
According to the filing, Leavitt is asking the Department of Commerce and FTC to launch a formal review into Tesla’s retail presence, targeting what she calls “anti-American economic influence zones disguised as storefronts.”
The document outlines:
Allegations of false green marketing
Claims of environmental damage tied to lithium and cobalt mining
Accusations of “social manipulation through AI” in Tesla’s Autopilot
“This is the same company that wants to put AI bots in your garage while hiding its slave-mined supply chain behind solar panels,” Leavitt added. “It’s not innovation — it’s infiltration.”
Elon Musk’s Camp Responds: “She’s Just Another Politician Chasing the Algorithm”
The backlash from Musk’s orbit was swift and unforgiving.
In a post shared via Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) platform, Tesla’s Director of Policy Affairs Andrew Bergstrom responded:
“Karoline Leavitt is welcome to drive a 1992 gas guzzler if that makes her feel patriotic. Tesla will continue building the future — while her ideology rusts in the past.”
Musk himself reposted a meme mocking Leavitt’s stance, showing a coal-powered generator charging a Tesla with the caption: “Still cleaner than her campaign promises.”
Divided Reactions: “Freedom vs. the Future”?
The controversy has ignited fierce reactions across the political spectrum.
Progressives are defending Tesla as a private company leading the green tech revolution.
Conservatives are split — with some praising Leavitt’s pushback against corporate subsidies and others warning against alienating a successful American entrepreneur like Musk.
Tucker Carlson, during his latest segment, stated:
“Whether you love Elon or not, Karoline is asking the right question: Are we letting billionaires reengineer society with zero oversight?”
Meanwhile, Elon loyalists see Leavitt’s move as anti-innovation.
“This is political cosplay at its worst,” tweeted SpaceX engineer @MarsCoder, “bashing American engineering because it polls well on YouTube shorts.”
What’s Next: Will Washington Really Target Tesla?
Though the petition is unlikely to lead to immediate regulatory action, the symbolism of Leavitt’s attack is politically potent. With growing Republican frustration toward Big Tech and corporate wokeism, Tesla is now caught in the ideological crossfire.
Political analysts suggest that this could be the start of a broader populist rebellion against what some view as the “tech-industrial complex” — with Tesla, once the darling of innovation, now a cultural lightning rod.
Final Take: Tesla vs. The New Right
Karoline Leavitt has thrown a Molotov cocktail into the center of America’s tech narrative.
Whether her petition leads to real consequences or not, she’s succeeded in forcing a new national conversation: Is Tesla the future of freedom, or just another Silicon Valley empire feeding off the American taxpayer?
