Driving a Tesla isn’t quite the green-machine statement it once was. Thanks to the public and social media hijinks of CEO Elon Musk, protestors and vandals alike have targeted the brand’s EVs. It’s such an odd landscape, really, that owners and critics have started plastering Tesla vehicles with anti-Musk stickers. And one of the men behind the original stickers has made big bucks producing the decals.  

Matthew Hiller made a killing in his side hustle: selling stickers at the expense of Elon Musk 

Tesla has a bit of an image crisis as of late. Protestors have gathered outside of the brand’s dealers and service centers. Vandals have turned their attention to the automaker’s vehicles and locations, sometimes targeting personally owned EVs. 

However, while Tesla’s bottom line is taking a beating, another person is cashing in. It’s Hawaiian aquarium employee and online peddler of stickers and decals, Matt Hiller. His best-sellers? The stickers that are critical of Elon Musk. Hiller’s been selling the stickers since Musk’s Twitter takeover in 2023. However, business has picked up since Musk took up his unofficially official government post. Hiller reportedly made over $100,000 in a month selling his stickers. 

Of Hiller’s best-sellers, you may have seen one of the more popular options. It reads, “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.” Consequently, a dip into social media will show his handiwork riding on the rear-ends of Model 3 and Model Y EVs, almost apologizing for the public antics of the Tesla CEO.

But some of his stickers are less apologetic and more generally anti-Elon Musk in nature. You’ve got the classics, like a Ghostbusters-style sign crossing a line over “Elon.” Nothing too fancy. On the other hand, Hiller’s shops offer an “Anti Elon Tesla Club” decal in the style of the “Anti Social Social Club” streetwear brand. 

Finally, Hiller also has a decal with a direct jab at Musk’s cut, slash, and burn approach to government cost management. “Elon is a Dogebag,” it says, referencing his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That, or an almost too-simple “Elon Sucks.”

Stickers aren’t the only things owners are doing to their Teslas 

It’s not just stickers, either. Owners have taken to rebranding and re-badging their EVs to escape some of the rage of protestors and vandals. Some Seattle drivers were on social media cruising around in Model Ys and Model 3s with badges from across the market. Sure, a few of the re-badging attempts were understated. Gone were the “T” badges and “Dual Motor” script in favor of Audi and Mazda emblems.

However, some were decidedly less believable. Let’s face it. No one is going to believe that a Tesla Model 3 is a Chevrolet Corvette. Not even with a helping of fresh badges.