The South Korean automaker Kia informed AFP on Tuesday that it had not authorized a campaign of advertising featuring one of its electric cars with a bumper sticker disparaging Elon Musk, the owner of rival Tesla.
Kia Norway’s entry-level electric vehicle, the EV3, is featured in the advertising, which was shared on social media last month. The bumper sticker reads, “I bought this after Elon went crazy.”
The sticker seems to capitalize on a popular trend of Tesla owners who put bumper stickers on their cars saying they bought them “before Musk went crazy” because they are upset with the richest man in the world’s recent political involvement.
The advert was removed on Tuesday after AFP asked the South Korean company about the image.
“Kia Corporation is aware of a social media post by Kia Norway, which has since been removed,” a company spokesperson said in a statement provided to AFP.
“The post was an entirely independent local initiative that does not reflect the position of Kia Europe or Kia Corporation,” it added.
As of 2024, Kia, a subsidiary of Hyundai of South Korea, will sell more than 7.2 million vehicles worldwide, making them the third-largest automaker by volume.
Kia has introduced a variety of EVs in recent years, ranging from the big SUV EV9 to the entry-level EV3—Britain’s 2025 car of the year.
As the owner of the social networking platform X and the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk has emerged as a significant advisor and supporter of US President Donald Trump.
Protests against the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk oversees, have recently targeted the richest man in the world. These protests have included vandalism of Tesla facilities and an alleged cyberattack on X.
While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows he is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.
Following Musk’s contentious backing of far-right organizations, such as Germany’s AfD, during the country’s most recent election campaign, Tesla has suffered a decline in sales around Europe in recent weeks.
According to official data, Tesla sales in Germany, the largest auto market in Europe, fell more than 76% year over year in February. In January, overall sales in the EU nearly halved year over year.
Musk’s polarizing actions as a US POTUS adviser have investors worried about the possibility of boycotts and consumer backlash.
Since mid-December, Tesla has lost over one-third of its market value as Musk strengthens his ties to the divisive US president.
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