Amidst the continued controversies and campaigns towards Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Hawaii-based entrepreneur Matthew Hiller has made a killing. Hiller is the person behind among the hottest anti-Elon Musk stickers which have been noticed in Teslas over the previous months.
However in a current remark to NPR, Hiller shared one thing fairly fascinating—a few of his clients are buying stickers even when they don’t essentially disapprove of Elon Musk.
Enterprise Growth
In a remark to NPR, Hiller, who additionally works at an aquarium in Hawaii, famous that he listed his first anti-Musk sticker in his on-line store MadPufferStickers in 2023. The sticker learn, “I purchased this earlier than we knew Elon was loopy.” On the time, Hiller famous that Musk was “type of turning into a bully and type of pushing disinformation.” Whereas Hiller really thought of shopping for his personal Tesla previously, Musk’s actions ended up disillusioning him from the corporate.
“I assumed they had been very cool. I appreciated the tech. I appreciated the truth that they had been good for the surroundings… I imply, some issues are extra vital than simply tech, you recognize, like, I simply don’t wish to assist somebody who’s so towards who I’m and what I consider. It was a selection and I didn’t wish to be simply confused for somebody who supported him or agreed with him,” Hiller acknowledged.
The entrepreneur’s sticker enterprise noticed a notable enhance in current months, particularly following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Hiller has since expanded his sticker lineup, with common ones like “Anti Elon Tesla Membership,” “Elon is a dogebag,” and “Elon killed my resale worth.” Hiller has bought about 70,000 stickers, magnets, and clings throughout his on-line outlets on Amazon, Etsy, Redbubble, and eBay to this point.
Stunning Clientele
Together with his enterprise rising, Hiller famous that he has obtained orders from throughout the globe, permitting him to attain gross sales of $100,000 in a single month. This was no shock as Musk has grow to be a controversial determine, not simply in the USA however in a number of international locations throughout Europe as effectively. When Musk carried out his controversial gesture in January alone, Hiller recorded 500 gross sales in sooner or later.
Most surprisingly, nonetheless, a few of Hiller’s clients could not essentially disapprove of Elon Musk’s politics or his involvement with the Trump administration by his work with the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE). Hiller shared a transaction on his Etsy retailer to NPR, which concerned a sticker that was ordered by a father to his son, who lived in Los Angeles.
“Often, I get folks on my Etsy retailer, they purchase a sticker as a present, after which they get to write down a bit word together with the present to the recipient. And sometimes I learn the notes and I see one that claims like, ‘Pleased birthday, from dad. That is to guard you on the imply streets of L.A.,’” Hiller famous.
The shopper’s word is no surprise contemplating that Teslas have been subjected to a wave of vandalism assaults from folks or activists who’re vital of Elon Musk. The Tesla vandalism incidents, in addition to Molotov and capturing assaults on Tesla shops, have been condemned by the Trump administration.
Not a Full-Time Gig
Regardless of his enterprise increase, Hiller famous that he doesn’t intend to go away his aquarium job but, nor does he intend to promote stickers full-time. Thus, even when the Elon Musk controversies ended tomorrow, the entrepreneur famous that he could be advantageous.
“If it ended tomorrow, I’m completely advantageous. You already know, I didn’t set out to do that. And it’s actually not my marketing strategy going ahead. I imply, it’s not a very good marketing strategy to financial institution on a billionaire simply annoying folks perpetually,” Hiller acknowledged.
