Jason Bateman ditched his Tesla, ‘I feel like I’m driving around with a Trump sticker’
Unless you’ve been living in a bubble under a rock on Mars, you know that owning a Tesla isn’t as socially conscious as it once was. As a result, celebrities have ditched their Teslas en masse, including Hollywood’s own Jason Bateman. But Bateman didn’t drop his Tesla because of vandalism or Elon Musk’s most recent public follies. No, the actor-turned-podcaster shared that he lost the Tesla during last year’s election.
Actor, director, and podcaster Jason Bateman told vice presidential candidate Tim Walz that his Tesla was ‘gone’
It seems like everyone has a podcast nowadays. But where there are hordes of podcasts, there are winners and losers. Jason Bateman’s podcast, “Smartless,” fits firmly into the former, taking the No. 7 spot in the top 50 from last year. In one of those hit shows, Bateman admitted that he ditched his Tesla. But it was long before Elon Musk’s antics and nationwide vandalism reached fever pitch.
Instead, Bateman chose to offload his Tesla during the election timeframe. “I feel like I’m driving around [with] a Trump sticker with that car, so it’s gone,” Bateman said on the popular podcast. The Smartless crew, Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, were talking cars with then vice-presidential candidate, US Coast Guard veteran, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at the time, per Business Insider.
“I’m so excited that every car brand now has an electric car,” Bateman added. While we love variety, that statement isn’t quite true. Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Chrysler, INEOS, Lincoln, McLaren, and Mitsubishi don’t currently have any battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in their lineups, to name a few. In the “Arrested Development” actor’s defense, most automakers offer some form of hybrid.
He is, however, getting some voice-over work with Hyundai, an active legacy automaker in the EV space. For 2025, Hyundai offers the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, IONIQ 9, and Kona Electric, all of which are true BEVs. No hybridization there. And if you see an advertisement for one of these EVs, you’re likely to hear the “Juno” star touting its finer points.
