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AOC shredded online after she gave bizarre reason for why she bought a Tesla rather than union-made car

Democrat Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez found herself once again at the center of controversy after she discussed her ownership of a Tesla car

WASHINGTON, DC: In a recent appearance on CBS's 'Face the Nation', Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC, the far-left Democrat representative from New York, found herself once again at the center of controversy as she discussed her ownership of a Tesla despite previously expressing her intention to switch to a union-made electric vehicle.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Tesla ownership

The controversy surrounding Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's ownership of a Tesla began in 2021 when it was revealed that she had purchased a $35,000 Model 3 from Elon Musk's electric car company.

This raised eyebrows because Tesla has a history of being non-unionized, while Ocasio-Cortez has consistently advocated for workers' rights and unionization in various industries.

In 2022, Ocasio-Cortez stated her desire to transition to an electric vehicle produced by a company with a unionized workforce. However, during her recent 'Face the Nation' appearance, when host Margaret Brennan questioned her about the delay in making the switch, Ocasio-Cortez offered an explanation that left viewers rather puzzled.

"Is it a problem with the quality, is it a problem with the style, is the market just not there?" Brennan asked.

"Er no look our car was purchased during the pandemic when travel, mass, before a vaccine had come out so travel between New York and Washington the safest way we had determined was an EV," AOC responded.

"But that was prior to some of the new models coming out on the market that had the range available, but we’re actually looking into trading in our car now and hopefully, we will soon," she added.

Social media users slam AOC over bizarre explanation

AOC's explanation left some social media users scratching their heads. Some criticized her for what they perceived as a weak excuse, while others questioned the relevance of the timing of her purchase.

"That doesn’t even sound believable. Sounds like an excuse, a bad one," one posted on X.

"What does the timing have to do with anything? She is grabbing 2 completely unrelated items as the reason to buy an EV. Musk will be heartbroken if she trades in her Tesla for another car brand," another wrote.

"And Tesla and their American workers make the most American-made cars you can buy, of any kind. But, I guess union Americans are more important than non-union Americans," someone else chimed in.

"AOC is what happens when politicians get selected in an open audition rather than through rising up naturally through grit and hard work," a comment read.

"The fact that this woman has an audience in America is tragic," another quipped. 

Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of Elon Musk and her preference for union representation in the automotive industry is not a new thing. She has previously expressed her disapproval of Musk, who has been critical of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez vs Elon Musk

In May, Ocasio-Cortez stated her desire to own an electric vehicle manufactured by a company that allows employees to unionize. Tesla's absence of union representation made it an unlikely choice for her. "He's a billionaire. I could care less what he thinks," she stated.

Ocasio-Cortez's Tesla ownership first came to public attention when her Model 3 was spotted parked illegally outside a Whole Foods in Washington, DC. This incident led to increased scrutiny, with some accusing her of hypocrisy for criticizing Tesla while owning one of their vehicles.

AOC's criticism of Tesla has been consistent. In December 2018, she voiced concerns over the subsidies the company received, stating that the public deserved a return on its investment in innovative technologies.

"When we as a public choose to invest in new technologies, we deserve a return on that investment," she said at the time.

"For far too long, we gave money to Tesla, we gave money to a ton of people and we got no return on our investment that the public made in creating technologies, and it's about time we get our due because it's the public that funded and financed a lot of innovative technologies," she added.

This criticism took an unusual turn when Ocasio-Cortez engaged in a Twitter exchange with Musk. "Tired of having to collectively stress about what explosion of hate crimes is happening bc some billionaire with an ego problem unilaterally controls a massive communication platform," she wrote in a tweet.

In response, Musk playfully replied, "Stop hitting on me, I'm really shy," accompanied by a blushing emoji.

Ocasio-Cortez then insisted that she was referring to Mark Zuckerberg, not Musk, but took down the tweet a minute later.