Some Tesla owners in the Netherlands want to part ways with their cars, due to the controversial behaviour of company owner Elon Musk, according to a new poll.

In total of 432 members of the 26,000-strong EenVandaag viewers panel own a Tesla, either purchased or leased. The brand accounted for the largest share of new car sales in the Netherlands last year.

Of panel Tesla owners, 30% said they have either recently sold their car or are planning to do so, and 40% said they feel embarrassed about owning one. “Musk is abusing his power,” one driver said. “If I had known what he would turn into, I would never have bought one.”

However, 51% of Tesla drivers said Musk’s behaviour has no impact on how they feel about their car, and 40% stated they are proud to drive one. “There are composers who wrote beautiful music and did bad things,” said one respondent. “That does not make their music any less beautiful.”

The researchers also found that Musk’s support for Donald Trump and his interference in European politics have had an impact on his other businesses. Some 46% of users of his social media platform, X, are considering leaving or have already left.

“I don’t want to contribute to a platform that spreads so much disinformation and hatred,” one user said.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms have also drawn criticism, with 33% of respondents considering closing their Facebook accounts and 24% thinking of leaving Instagram.

They described Zuckerberg’s decision to abandon fact-checking as “opportunistic,” adding that the Facebook founder had “shown his true colours.”

However, another group of users welcomed the end of fact-checking, stating it allows “more space to discuss issues.” Others remarked that the departure of “left-wing progressives” from the platform was a positive development.

The Dutch government said earlier this month it would not change its social media strategy, despite calls to leave X, Instagram and Facebook.