SAN FRANCISCO - Motorists have traded in a record number of Tesla electric vehicles this month, Edmunds data showed, amid a wave of protests against chief executive officer Elon Musk’s work as an adviser to US President Donald Trump.

Tesla cars from model year 2017 or newer accounted for 1.4 per cent of all the vehicles traded in until March 15, up from 0.4 per cent in March last year, according to data from Edmunds. Analysts at the national car shopping website said that share could grow through the second half of the month.

In February, the Trump administration’s first full month, Teslas made up 1.2 per cent of vehicles traded in.

March’s trade-ins so far would be the highest monthly share Edmunds has on record of Tesla trade-ins toward new or used purchases at dealerships, if the trend continues. This excludes trade-ins toward new purchases of Teslas and EVs from other direct-to-consumer brands.

Mr Musk is leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency and activists across the United States have staged so-called Tesla Takedown demonstrations over his role in cuts to the federal workforce and cancellation of contracts that fund global humanitarian programmes.

Social media has been rife with posts from Tesla owners in the US and some European countries showing them giving up their vehicles in displays of anger toward Musk.

Prices of used Teslas have dropped in line with other EVs from Ford, Kia and Hyundai, according to Edmunds.

Used Tesla prices will likely decline further as Tesla trade-ins that are undergoing reconditioning reach the market, Edmunds analysts said.

Anger against the brand has resulted in Tesla vehicles being set on fire and damage to the company’s showrooms and charging stations.

Mr Trump has said he would label such attacks as domestic terrorism.

Tesla stock, which soared after Mr Trump’s election in November on hopes it would be easier for the company to roll out robotaxis under the new administration, has plunged more than 40 per cent from its January peak.

Elon Musk sought to reassure Tesla employees that despite “rocky moments,” they should “hang onto” their stock, in an unannounced all-hands meeting on March 20 in Austin, Texas, which the billionaire chief executive streamed live on his social media network X.

“If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon,” he told employees during the meeting. “I can’t walk past a TV without seeing a Tesla on fi...