King Charles snubbed Tesla when he bought a new EV, buying a Lotus instead

Here are a few photos of King Charles and Queen Camilla visiting Canada House yesterday, which is basically the Canadian embassy in the UK (only they don’t call it an embassy). Camilla and Charles will travel to Canada next week, where Charles will officially open up Canada’s Parliament. It’s all part of the larger move to push back on Donald Trump’s “America should invade Canada” bullsh-t. Yesterday, Charles and Camilla arrived at Canada House in one of the royal Bentleys. Those are the cars used for the king’s official engagements and state business. Privately, he still drives his Aston Martin, but he was shopping around for a new EV for private use. He apparently made a point of snubbing Tesla, and instead bought a new Lotus Eletre SUV.

It emerged Tuesday that King Charles has snubbed the toxic Tesla brand for Lotus, ordering a fully electric, $210,000 Lotus Eletre SUV, according to U.K. tabloid the Sun. Despite Lotus having its roots in the U.K., their cars are now manufactured in Wuhan, the Chinese industrial hub synonymous with the outbreak of COVID-19.

The royals have long sought to buy British cars, favoring Rolls Royces, Land Rovers and Bentleys, but many of these brands have fallen into the hands of foreign owners in recent years, with production often moved overseas.

Charles is famously the owner of a pale blue Aston Martin DB6, a 21st birthday present from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, which has been converted to run off biofuels. Another iconic British brand, Aston Martin has struggled under a succession of owners in recent decades, and is now owned 18% by the Saudi public investment fund.

Lotus was established as a boutique British sports car brand in 1948 but was 51% acquired by Chinese owners Zhejiang Geely in 2017. They moved production from the U.K. to Wuhan in 2022. The new Lotus will be specially painted in the traditional scarlet colors of royal livery, known as “royal claret,” and will be used at one of Charles’ country homes, the report said.

A source told the Sun: “The king has always liked eco-friendly vehicles, but seems conscious that royal claret is the right look, even when off duty. It will look far more professional for the king’s personal car to match the state vehicles. The palace has hinted that if Bentley can’t make limousines for official use run on electric, they would look at other manufacturers.”

The U.K. is due to ban pure petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Two state Bentleys on ceremonial occasions are exempt from the legislation but are due to be converted to run on biofuel.

Tesla, meanwhile, has been at the epicenter of a months-long slump following Elon Musk’s controversial work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Trump administration. Musk’s shift in priorities arguably impacted the company’s sales, which recorded a roughly 9 percent drop in the first three months of the year in the United States, according to The New York Times. Though factors like competition impacted the plunge, Musk’s close ties with the Trump administration were also heavily cited as reasons for the fall.

[From The Daily Beast]

It just occurred to me that William and Kate prefer Land Rover, although we’ve heard over the years that William has a large and mostly secret car collection. I think his collection is housed in Norfolk? Anyway, I’ve always thought the Lotus sports cars are sexy, but I had no idea what the SUVs looked like…they’re nice? They look like Nissan Muranos?? I’m glad Charles didn’t buy or get a Tesla. All governments, all heads of state, all businesses, they should all be pressured into divesting from Tesla.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.