Jeremy Clarkson takes swipe at ‘ridiculously expensive’ Tesla cars in latest jab at Elon Musk
Jeremy Clarkson has shared his opinion on Tesla vehicles branding them “unreliable” in the latest blow to Elon Musk’s electric car company.
Clarkson, who has held a strong opinion on Musk’s car brand since 2008, had previously criticised the electric carmaker as being “ridiculously expensive” and “weighing more than most moons”.
In response, Musk claimed Clarkson had “a problem with electric cars” and accused the Top Gear team of pretending the car had broken down when it hadn’t.
The growing tension surrounding Elon Musk’s car brand has spilled over into global impacts with Tesla sales falling from 18,161 in January 2024 to just 9,945 in January 2025 across Europe.
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Meanwhile, worldwide protests against Tesla have been taking place all year with incidents of vandalism reported in Ireland, Germany and the United States.
Around 20 Tesla models were vandalised outside a Belfast showroom last week, suffering broken wing mirrors, smashed windows and dented bodywork.
Some Tesla owners are now attempting to distance themselves from Musk, with one of Clarkson’s friends fitting a sticker to his car saying, “he bought it before he knew Musk was an idiot.”
Other owners have considered “debadging” their vehicles to remove Tesla branding over fears they would be subject to vandalism attacks.
Despite having specific views on Tesla, Clarkson did express some sympathy for its 125,000 employees and millions of car owners.
He wrote in The Sunday Times: “They made their purchasing decision in good faith and work hard to make the payments each month.”
Daragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie, which monitors car insurance, warned that if these cars end up being the subject of increased vandalism and extra claims for insurers, “then a ‘Tesla surcharge’ is something owners may have to pay”.
Meanwhile, John Casey, president of Tesla Owners Ireland, acknowledged growing concerns among members, saying there was “a bit of fear” emerging.
“Numerous things have happened, like people have written on cars, swastikas have been put on cars,” he said. In the US, the FBI has been investigating incidents including arson, vandalism and gunfire targeting Tesla vehicles and infrastructure.
But more shockingly, according to some experts, Tesla owners now face potential insurance hikes due to the wave of attacks on their vehicles.
In response to the growing protests, Elon Musk has taken to social media to slam the protesters, describing the Tesla Takedown protests as “crazy”.
On top of the impact on sales, Tesla also faced issues around its self-driving technology with the UK temporarily blocking the software rollout across the nation.
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In January, officials from the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands noted: “The technological advancements in these systems are promising, but there remain concerns about their impact on driver behaviour, situational awareness and overall safety.”
The new limits could be devastating to Musk who has been working hard to position his company as a major player in the autonomous driving space through its robotaxi plans and new driving system.