Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more A popular liberal influencer known for clashing with Republicans was blasted online after bragging about buying a Tesla Cybertruck. Brian Krassenstein, a prominent social media personality and Trump critic, noted he “might get hate,” while sharing a photo of his new Tesla Cybertruck on X Tuesday. He got plenty of that – as well as some praise, including from Tesla’s boss and X’s owner. Cybertrucks have become a political statement thanks to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s political leanings — and his once close friendship with President Donald Trump. While electric vehicles may commonly be associated with left-leaning politics, the Cybertruck has gained a reputation as being more conservative or right-wing because of its link to Musk. Krassenstein, who runs the Krassencast Substack and YouTube with his twin brother Ed, noted that since he has a young family, “safety was important and so is not polluting the atmosphere with $5 a gallon gasoline.” A popular left-leaning commentator has received tremendous backlash after posting that he bought himself a Tesla Cybertruck (Getty Images) While Krassenstein appeared to be sincere about his reasons behind getting the Cybertruck, critics on X – which is owned by Musk – didn’t take kindly to the new car. The post received over 9,000 comments, many of which were mocking. “The safety of my family is important to me so I bought a car that catches fire spontaneously and won’t let you out,” one X user wrote in a repost, which had received over 14,000 likes by Thursday. Another user called the purchase “insanely selfish,” noting that the car would likely “kill other people (and their kids)” if they were to get into a car accident. The user then added, “Oh also it looks like s***.” One user wisecracked: “Why would you post your Ls,.” Another added: “I think this is one thing you could’ve kept to yourself.” Krassenstein, who has 998,000 followers on X, was active in the comment section responding to the hate, and later posting that people should “think” if they are going to criticize him for buying a Musk-made vehicle on a website Musk owns. “Every time you post here to criticize me, you’re helping Elon’s other company, and likely training or feeding the ecosystem around xAI in the process,” he wrote. “That’s the problem with purity tests: almost nobody passes them.” “If you want to trace the political contradictions behind nearly every product, platform, app, service, bank, car, phone, grocery store, streaming service, or AI tool you use, go ahead and ask Grok. Or ChatGPT. Or Claude,” he continued. “The truth is, modern life is full of compromises. I bought a vehicle I like. You’re posting on Elon’s platform to yell at me about it. Maybe we can all climb down from the hypocrisy Olympics for a minute,” Krassenstein wrote. Musk himself later chimed in, tweeting: “Only when you drive the Cybertruck do you realize how incredible it is: a bulletproof tank that moves like a million dollar sports car! “Reason for the angular shape is that the thick, ultra-hard stainless steel body panels cannot be stamped like the thin, feeble, paper-strength mild steel of other trucks. Cybertruck body panels would break 5000 ton stamping machines.” After the backlash, and losing at least 6,000 followers, Krassenstein shared an AI-generated image of a Ford truck in his garage instead of the Cybertruck, joking that he “traded in” the Tesla vehicle for “a beauty that gets 7 MPG and personally accelerates glacier melt every time I tap the gas pedal.” More about