Even before Tesla’s stock began sputtering this week, owners of the electric vehicles said they could feel an intensifying backlash in the Bay Area.
For Alan Hsiao, the first sign of trouble came on a recent Saturday, when protesters heckled his mother as she drove her Tesla Model Y past the showroom on Van Ness Avenue. Opponents of Elon Musk — the Tesla CEO who is now a top adviser to President Donald Trump — had staged a rally outside the dealership , one in a series of demonstrations to denounce Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government.
As Hsiao’s mother rolled by, en route to a dance class, rally participants walked toward her car, pointing fingers. She turned down another street to avoid them…