(Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) announced on Friday that he was getting rid of his Tesla for an “upgrade” – just days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk called the former Navy captain a “traitor” for visiting Ukraine.
“Hey folks, Mark Kelly here in Washington, driving to work for the last time in my Tesla. When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country, talking about slashing social security, cutting healthcare benefits for poor people, for seniors,” Kelly began in a video, adding:
It’s one bad thing after the next. He’s firing veterans. I’m a veteran. So I have a really hard time driving around in this thing. So I think it’s time for an upgrade today. So this is going to be my last, last trip in this car.
There are some things I really liked about it. There are things I didn’t like about it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is, you know, doing the right thing. I think it’s time to get rid of it. Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole and I don’t want to be driving a car built and designed by an asshole. So, uh, looking forward to my new ride.
Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy pilot, posted a lengthy thread on Sunday about his visit to Ukraine. He wrote, “Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin. Let me tell you about my trip and why it’s important we stand with Ukraine.”
Musk replied to Kelly’s post on Monday, saying, “You are a traitor.”
Kelly, a decorated naval aviator, later hit back at the South Africa-born Trump supporter, saying, “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”
Watch the clip above.
