• Kia took a dig at Tesla in Norway with an Instagram post showing a reworked version of a bumper sticker that has cropped up on many a Tesla vehicle this year.
To say that Elon Musk is a polarizing figure is an understatement. The words and actions of the Tesla boss and now Trump point man have become ever more controversial in recent years.
And those words and actions are increasingly having a negative impact on his company. After a spurt of growth in the wake of last November's U.S. elections, Tesla's shares have been in free fall for some time now, (at the time of writing, they are similar to what they were before the election).
The brand's sales are also in sharp decline, across the globe, as many consumers render their verdict on the man, his character and his actions.
In EV-friendly Norway, Kia saw an opportunity to capitalize on the controversy surrounding the businessman. The brand's Norwegian division posted an image of its new EV3 electric SUV sporting a bumper stick taking an unsubtle dig at Elon Musk.
The message on it – “I bought this after Elon went crazy” - is a twist on the sticker seen on many Teslas in North America and elsewhere in recent months, which reads “I bought this vehicle before Elon went crazy”.
Some initially thought it was a joke by an owner, but the image was uploaded by Kia Bil Norge AS, Kia Norway's official Instagram page.
Predictably, not everyone appreciated the humour. Some Tesla fans expressed their indignation on Elon Musk's X. Some of the criticisms levelled at Kia made sense, namely that it could suggest the vehicle wasn't worth buying before “Elon went crazy”, that it was in fact bought simply out of spite for the Tesla brand.
The Instagram post first appeared online at the end of February, before being quietly removed on March 10. But of course, if it got folks talking about Kia and more particularly its EV3, it was mission accomplished.
