Brisbane, Australia
CNN
–
When Tesla launched a campaign to stop building a battery recycling factory on small local blocks, he suspected that strong opinions about the company’s billionaire boss would help shake up local opinions.
But they didn’t know how much, or to what extent anti-Eronmusk sentiments had spread beyond the epicenter of his influence in the United States.
Neon and Zane, who requested the use of aliases to avoid Doxx by Musk supporters, said the main purpose of the campaign, “Trees not Teslas” was to store around 60 trees on the site in Tonsally, south of Adelaide, Australia’s driest capital.
“We struggle with designated green spaces… and trying to steal the remaining bits within the Tonslee area is just an insult,” said Neon, who once lived near the site and still worked nearby.
When the local council released the results of a community consultation on proposals to allow land to be sold for redevelopment, it included hundreds of inflammatory anti-mask comments or complete slander. The search showed 229 references to “Nazi,” “Nazism,” or other similar phrases to indicate tone.
His famous, confrontational statements and social media posts have made Musk a lightning bolt for people across America against President Donald Trump’s administration’s policies.
Tesla’s CEO is currently engaged in extremely general bust-ups with Trump. It is deployed in real time on rival social media platforms watched by audiences around the world.
Musk’s previous close partnership with Trump has hit Tesla’s sales. Global delivery plummeted 13% in the first three months of the year. This is because the backlash against musk and the suppression of competition against growth have made demand for vehicles more difficult.
Of the proposed factories in Tonsurrey, a suburb managed by Marion Council, one of the comments from the public consultations stated:
Some respondents directly introduced them to the arm gestures that Mask gave in January at a post-Trump rally, which commentators likened to fascist salutes. At the time, Musk wrote on social media platform X:
However, memories appear to be sticking to residents of Tonsurree, with 95% of over 900 responses to the council’s survey rejecting plans to sell the incredible land. But Marion Council passed it anyway and sent it to the state government for approval.
CNN contacted Tesla for comment.
It may be unusual for residents of small Australian cities to have problems with Musk given their distance from his policies and decisions. And that’s particularly unusual given the positive experiences of South Australia’s past with billionaire entrepreneurs.
In 2017, Musk offered to build the world’s most powerful battery to resolve some of the state’s power issues within 100 days. And he did. South Australia is currently leading the country in terms of renewable energy and is on track to achieve its 100% net renewable energy target by 2027.
State government-backed Tesla and local power companies have created virtual power plant fitting power wall battery systems in state homes. The idea is that all batteries will unite and support the grid when demand is high.
However, the proposed Tesla plant in Marion does not generate electricity. It is used to recycle Tesla batteries and provide a showroom for Tesla electric vehicles (EVs).
Electric Vehicle Council figures By May 2025, Tesla Sales across the country has almost halved in half and half. Felipe Munoz, a senior analyst at automotive market research firm Jato Dynamics, says it is part of what awaits Model Y. It finally arrived in Australia in May and sent 122% Tesla sales compared to the same period a year ago.
Marion Council Mayor Chris Hannah says rebellion sentiment has invaded standard council consultations. This was simply to find use of contaminated land.
The site is contaminated by trichloroethylene, known as TCE, a solvent that can cause cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and is banned in the United States.
“The problem with that is not just children playing in the soil, for example, but also smoke that can rise from under the globe. Sealing it in bitumen parking or buildings is the solution,” Hanna said.
The site has been fenced by the public since 2016. Locals say that mature trees provide shelter to birdlife in areas with few trees, even if they can’t use them. More importantly, according to the South Australian Conservation Council, mature trees help contain the contamination.
“When you remove the tree, the site is at a higher risk of these contaminants leaking into the groundwater, clearly affecting human health,” said Kirsty Bevan, CEO of the group, which added Tesla’s promise to plant 59 seedlings on the site.
“We suggest that further research needs to be carried out on that site and corrective actions need to be implemented,” she said. “I think the improvements to the site we are looking for come with a woodland.”
During the rebel campaign, Beban said:
Mayor Hannah said councillors heard about the opposition but voted 8-3 to pass the proposal. The new business will also pay local taxes and ease the burden on residents during the cost-of-living crisis, Hanna said.
“It’s very important to have a substantial new factory in the area, and it’s adjacent to a high-tech manufacturing area that we’ve developed instead of an old car factory. So having a factory that recycles electric batteries is a very good fit,” Hanna said.
Sarah Lascomb, one of the opposition councillors, said she voted against the proposal because she sent clear and consistent feedback that the community wanted more trees, saying the council’s strategic vision is for a “livable and sustainable community.”
“The people I spoke to in the community are just tired of seeing the shadows of the profits of big companies,” says Luscombe. “Increasingly, we’re just saying, ‘Well, I want to have a say here. I want to count my opinions.” ”
Over the past few months, Tesla cars and showrooms have been destroyed in several countries by blocking critics’ outrage over Musk’s support for far-right parties and other policies in Europe.
Hannah said the council received “malicious newsletters” after approving the proposal, but he was not concerned about violent backlash against Tesla’s factories or council members, and would not be portrayed in his own views on masks.
“I’m talking as mayor, so I’m not actually taking a political or ideological stance,” he said. “I’m trying to beautifully make life beautiful for the people in my area.”
South Australia’s local government minister Joe Zachak told CNN in a statement that he will follow a “normal process” and determine whether the land should be approved for sale.
“Our government welcomes investment and job creation in South Australia and is proud of its commitment to providing 100% net renewable energy by 2027,” he said.
For sale, the land owner must submit a development application and decontaminate the site to standards set by the state authorities.
South Australia’s Environmental Protection Agency said there are preliminary consultations between the council and the developer. He added that dealing with legacy pollution is often complicated, expensive and time-consuming.
Neon and Zane organized a snap rally outside the Marion Council building on Wednesday, asking the state government to refuse a rezoning application. More than a dozen protesters had signs, including the signs that “Elon Musk can get (edited).”
They are determined to keep Tesla out of their area and are not driven by more work promises. “They will be working on the contaminated land of the company, which was contaminated by Elon Musk,” Neon said.
“99 of the 117 pages in the report were negative comments about Elon and the proposal. How can I ignore it?