Love Tesla but not Elon Musk? There’s a bumper sticker for that

SPOTLIGHT / Over Elon

Musk at Trump’s inauguration celebration.Credit: NYT

It’s become an indelible image on social media: Elon Musk slapping his chest, flinging his right arm diagonally upwards, palm facing down, in a Nazi-like salute at a Donald Trump inauguration celebration. Even after the South African-born Tesla CEO made light of it via pun-ridden posts on X to his 215 million followers (“Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations!”), he proceeded to tell us how he really felt by throwing his support behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party – and hosting a lengthy live chat on X with an AfD leader.

The question is whether these provocative antics have resulted in further brand damage to Musk’s business interests. X has lost seven million monthly active users in the US since Musk acquired it in 2022, while global revenue on his EVs has sunk nearly 40 per cent in the same period.

Australian Electric Vehicle Association president Chris Jones believes the businessman has done his shareholders no favours. “Musk has hitched his wagon to a very authoritarian government in the US, which is risky,” he says. “It blows my mind that people can say it wasn’t a Nazi salute.”

Musk poured $US260 million into Trump’s re-election campaign, despite the president’s loathing of EVs and love of fossil fuels. “Musk has antagonised exactly the customers he’ll need in the future,” says Jones, adding, “I had a reservation for a Model 3 Tesla before Musk went crazy.” (He currently drives a Hyundai Ioniq.)

Last year, Tesla suffered a near 17 per cent drop on its 2023 vehicle sales figures in Australia: the decline could steepen this year as cheaper Chinese imports – BYD, Zeekr, GWM – flood the market. That said, “many of our members still love their Teslas, despite what they may think of the CEO,” says Jones. Greg Callaghan

LISTEN / Web of death

Would you want to know if you were on it? This podcast reveals what happens when a journalist uncovers a hitman for hire on the dark web.

Journalist Carl Miller has a dilemma. He has gained access to a site on the dark web where people can hire a murderer to kill someone they know. It turns out to be a scam run by a Romanian who pockets the money for hits that are never carried out – but Miller has the names and personal details of the intended victims and realises their lives are potentially in danger because someone they know has paid thousands of dollars to have them killed. What does he do? Does he try to warn them? Does he go to the police? And, if he does, will he be believed? Miller’s podcast, Kill List, is a real nail-biter that also digs into male toxicity – yes, it’s overwhelmingly men who use the site – and the complicated ethics of journalism in the modern age. Barry Divola

WATCH / Eastern promise

This time, it’s Thailand: Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey check in to season three of The White Lotus.

The White Lotus is back, baby! Showrunner Mike White has sharpened his pen once again, taking aim at the wellness industry and the West’s appropriation of Eastern culture in the third season of the critically acclaimed HBO series. Set in Thailand – season one was Hawaii, season two Sicily – the series follows three sets of privileged holiday-makers and the staff at the White Lotus resort. Which begs the question: is anyone reading TripAdvisor? “Bodies in the water; lunch ruined. One star” or “The hotel manager was stabbed by a guest; fluffy towels. Two stars.” But maybe that’s the point of the show: the guests are so self-involved, they’re oblivious to the lives of everyone around them. Just like another well-known hotel, at the White Lotus, you can check out, but you can never leave. On Binge from February 17. Louise Rugendyke

READ / Hound of love

Sydney-based writer Sun Jung’s novel explores a dog’s take on life, reincarnation – and high-rise living.

I’m going to need you to stick with me when I tell you that Sun Jung’s charming novel, My Name is Gucci: A Dog’s Story (Transit Lounge; $33), is told from the perspective of a Dalmatian-adjacent rescue dog named Gucci. While my dog’s spirituality seems to exist entirely in stealing food, Gucci is something of a sage. His karmic destiny is tied to his owner’s and, in his latest incarnation (his 127th), he lives in a high-rise apartment complex in Sydney where a strata-active neighbour is intent on banning furry friends. This novel is a true delight, tender and moving; we’d all do well to spend more time looking at the world through the perspective of the gentle Gucci. Melanie Kembrey

WEAR / Hello, petal

Aesop’s latest fragrance: its name hails from a Norse term for being surrounded by flowers.

The Australian golden child of the beauty industry has left the nest and matured into a global citizen. Since Aesop was acquired by beauty giant L’Oréal in a $3.7 billion deal in 2023, the maker of hand soaps, post-poo drops and fine face scrubs has been growing its perfume portfolio. The latest fragrance, Aurner Eau de Parfum ($240/50ml), takes its name from a Norse term that describes being surrounded by flowers. Developed by French perfumer Celine Barel, it features magnolia leaf, Roman chamomile and cedar heart and can be worn by men and women. Damien Woolnough

SEE / Ice Woman Cometh

Singaporean artist Dawn Ng’s videos of melting ice won’t be around forever: at the Melbourne Art Fair this month.

Art fair commissions need to appeal to both the avid collector and the average person looking for something to do on the weekend. Singaporean artist Dawn Ng fits both bills with her mesmerising videos of frozen blocks of coloured ice slowly melting. Ng is one of two artists commissioned by the Melbourne Art Foundation to create new works for this year’s Melbourne Art Fair (February 20-23, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, adult tickets from $32) and appears to be having an Australian moment: her work features in this year’s Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at the Queensland Art Gallery, and in a group show by her gallery, Sullivan + Strumpf, that ends early next month. Katrina Strickland

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