A rumor that users circulated online in March 2025 alleged Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, ordered his car company to remotely deactivate vehicles owned by Democratic Party leaders. The claim followed many weeks of stock market losses for the electric vehicle maker.
On March 23, Facebook user Mitch Mallett posted (archived), "I just received a message that said Elon Musk just cross-referenced a data base of all active Democratic leadership! He than [sic] cross referenced it to the ownership of Tesla automobiles. He then had Tesla shut down all those cars." Mallett then continued, "I went out in the driveway open the door of my car and sat in it nothing came on. I hit all the buttons. The screen did not come on. The car is unresponsive!"
Many other Facebook users also shared Mallett's post. One user remarked (archived), "Well, this ought to help the company's public image and encourage people to buy Teslas. What won't this guy do to interfere in American politics? LMAO."
However, no evidence existed of Musk ordering the remote deactivation of Tesla vehicles owned by Democratic Party leaders. Mallett and Tesla did not yet respond to requests for comment.
On the morning of March 24 — around 10 hours after creating his post — Mallett published an update, reading somewhat like a partial retraction, saying his 2021 Tesla Model 3 successfully charged and started up. He wrote, "UP DATE. Woke up this morning, the model three was charged to 80% and worked. If this was meant to cause me stress. I refuse to admit it did."
In the comments under his post, Mallett alleged he received the message — the one about Musk shutting down Tesla vehicles owned by Democratic Party leaders — either on Messenger or as a text message. He did not provide any evidence, simply responding to another user, "I think it was Facebook messenger but it might've been a text. After I read it, I opened up my Tesla app which communicates with my car and there was no communication." He then added, "I did go back to read the message I got and I can't find it. But it seems to be accurate."
This story will receive updates should any further developments come to pass.