Singer Sheryl Crow faced terrifying consequences after making a out of protesting Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this year.
Crow made headlines when she announced she had sold her Tesla and donated the proceeds to National Public Radio (NPR) to protest Musk’s role in the Trump administration.
But her attempt at making a political statement may have had consequences she didn’t anticipate, and could have cost her life.
While the Grammy-winning singer technically sold the car back in November, she waited until February 14 to publicly disclose the donation.
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Her post, which quickly went viral, drew a clear line in the sand about where she stood politically.
“My parents always said, ‘You are who you hang out with,’” Crow wrote to her 3.3 million social media followers. “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with.”
“So long Tesla. Money donated to @npr, which is under threat by President Musk, in hopes that the truth will continue to find its way to those willing to know the truth,” she added.
Sheryl Crow sells her Tesla in protest of ‘President Musk,’ vowing to donate the cash to NPR.
This coming from someone who had the poor judgement to date Lance Armstrong and watch him undergo illicit blood transfusions. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/pZgLqJExBx
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) February 16, 2025
The message the “If It Makes You Happy” singer sent didn’t come without real-world consequences that hit far too close to home.
According to Crow, not long after her public display, an armed intruder was discovered inside a barn on her secluded 50-acre property in West Nashville.
“There was a moment where I actually really felt very afraid,” she admitted. “A man got on my property, in my barn, who was armed.”
“It doesn’t feel safe when you’re dealing with people who are so committed,” she added.
Crow said the unsettling experience was different from her earlier brushes with political controversy.
Back in 1996, she faced blowback for lyrics criticizing Walmart’s sale of firearms.
The mega-retailer responded by pulling her second album from its shelves. At the time, however, Crow didn’t feel as personally endangered.
Walmart stores have banned singer Sheryl Crow's latest album because of a lyric in one of her songs that says, quote, "Walmart sells guns to children."
Oddly, the store made no objection to another lyric in the song: Quote, "Walmart sells crap." pic.twitter.com/9IYPfgw0jQ
— Norm Macdonald Joke of the Day (@NormSNLJokes) February 28, 2025
“This feels different,” she said in her cover story with Variety. “Because when I came out against Walmart carrying guns, not everybody was armed — and certainly I didn’t live in Tennessee, where everybody is armed.”
The song in question, “Love Is A Good Thing,” didn’t mince words. One of the lyrics: “With a gun they bought at Walmart discount stores,” is cited as the main reason the album was banned from the retailer.
Despite the escalation in public response and the alarming security incident, Crow stood by her activism.
“I feel like I’m fighting for my kids. Also, that’s the way I was raised,” she said.
“There have been times when it hasn’t really been fun, but I follow my Atticus Finch dad; I’m very similar to him if I see something that seems unfair, you know?”
Now based in Tennessee after having left behind her Hollywood in 2007, Crow said she makes daily calls to Rep. Andy Ogles and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, whom she identified as her representatives in Congress.
Imagining the interns in Andy Ogles' office who get a call from Sheryl Crow every morning and have no idea who she is https://t.co/lRU6JuT6Vb
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) April 30, 2025
She does so, she said, on behalf of her two adopted sons, Wyatt, 18, and Levi, 16.
“Tennessee is a hard place for me. I mean, I struggle,” she admitted. “We have to stand up and be vocal and fight for the future for our kids.”
Crow also echoed a frequently cited claim from former President Jimmy Carter, using it to explain her ongoing activism.
“As long as there’s legal bribery, we won’t ever have fair elections,” she quoted Carter. “So we have to keep raising our voices and showing up to these organized rallies.”
In the interview, Crow reflected on how a series of personal life events shifted her perspective and priorities.
A breast cancer diagnosis in 2006, the end of her high-profile relationship with disgraced road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong, and a desire for family stability all contributed to her decision to settle in Tennessee.
Never forget Sheryl Crow once enjoyed being tea bagged by Lance Armstrong’s one-nut 🌰 ball sack.
🤣 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/WK4WDa80wz
— Just Jen R𝕏 🫡🇺🇸 (@JustJenRX) February 15, 2025
“We all have those moments in our life where we have to pivot,” she said. “I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, and I moved [to Tennessee] in 2007.”
“I think having come out of a relationship where I thought I was gonna be married and was close to the kids that were gonna be my stepkids, then got diagnosed — all three of those things made me reassess,” she explained.
“I just looked at it and thought, ‘I want to put down roots; I want to have a family.’ My sisters live here, and my family all lived within three hours, and I just decided to start phase two.”
Environmental concerns also weigh heavily on Crow’s mind, especially under the current administration.
She referenced a common saying from her youth, about leaving a campground better than you found it, as a metaphor for her views on climate change.
“The planet is someplace we get to be on for just a little bit,” she said. “And right now, this organism that we live on is being disregarded, particularly by this administration.”
“Let’s face it: I may not be here to see my kids teach their kids how to leave the campground nicer than they found it. And who knows what the campground’s gonna be like when they get it. That concerns me.”