Erykah Badu jokes she vandalised her own Tesla to ‘stay on trend’

Badu is the latest celebrity to voice her opposition to Elon Musk

Erykah Badu has joked that she vandalised her own Tesla car, adding her name to a growing wave of protests against the company’s owner Elon Musk.

A backlash against Musk has spread across the United States since the billionaire aligned himself with Donald Trump and landed himself a key role in the government as the head of DOGE.

Arsonists and vandals have targeted Tesla facilities across the US, with protests also emerging in the UK and France. Trump has vowed to treat those who vandalise Teslas – in mounting attacks to protest Musk’s job cuts and the dismantling of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency – as “domestic terrorists.”

Badu, whose 1997 debut album Baduizm earned her the title of the “Queen of Neo Soul”, has now added her voice to the discontent surrounding Musk and Trump’s new administration.

“Just vandalised my own Tesla. Trying to stay on trend,” the singer wrote on X/Twitter on 23 March.

It was unclear whether Badu had actually vandalised the vehicle or whether the 54-year-old was just commenting on the current trend.

In an update shared on Wednesday (26 March), Badu has now said: “Stop playin. This was humour. This stupid. And y’all dumb. If I was even slow enough to participate in the misplaced Tesla debate and smash somethin’ I’d pay a minion to do it.”

A number of other celebrities have also protested Tesla in their own unique way.

Sheryl Crow reportedly sold her car after referring to the entrepreneur as “President Musk”. She said she had also donated money to National Public Radio (NPR) which she described as being “under threat.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel dedicated two monologues on his talk show last week to the protests after Musk called the comedian an “unfunny jerk”.

In contrast, Kim Kardashian received backlash after she posed with Tesla products in a recent Instagram post.

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A burned Tesla Cybertruck is parked at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP)

On Friday (14 March), the Skims co-owner shared a series of photos from a shoot she did with Perfect Magazine, including one which shows her posing on a Tesla Cybertruck, while others show her embracing the company’s robot.

“She definitely picked a side,” one person wrote in the comments with a red flag emoji.

Another commenter agreed, writing, “Iconic! (If that truck was on fire!)”

“Well, that's a very clear side just picked, the same one that sides with Russia. Not great,” a third person wrote in the comments.

Musk is the owner of Tesla and has seen his public opinion – and stock price of the car company – plummet since he joined the White House to slash the government budget.