Stars—they’re just like us!
In a recent video, celebrated rapper J. Cole attempted to buy a Tesla, according to a woman who says she witnessed him surveying various models. However, the woman claims that the store’s manager largely ignored him because he didn’t know who he was.
User @b284849 uploaded a video of both her and J. Cole shopping at the same Tesla dealership earlier in the week. As of Tuesday morning, her post had amassed more than 402,800 views.
“JCole and I shopping for teslas at the same time while the manager kept ignoring him bc he didn’t know who he was & continued persuading me to place the order for a car,” the content creator wrote in the text overlay.
In the minute-long video, viewers see J. Cole—donning a backpack and athleisure—walking around one of the cars and asking workers questions about it. His conversation with the workers was short, however, and it looks as though the rapper left the dealership shortly after their exchange.
In response to another user’s comment, @b284849 said that the manager likely acted so blasé toward J. Cole because he didn’t know who he was. “I told the manager that’s J. Cole he’s like who’s J. Cole?”
Meanwhile, @b284849, who said she’s also a singer, was starstruck. “I’m in the presence of a true artist,” she wrote.
Instead, @b284849 said, the manager was more concerned with making sure she placed an order for a car. “The manager is talking to me off camera and he won’t stop talking about the car,” @b284849 said, adding that she later got a picture with the rapper.
But the workers were in awe, too, @b284849 added. In another comment, she clarified that many of the workers both knew J. Cole and are “into his music.”
@b284849 #jcole #tesla #shopping #car #cybertruck #nyc #random ♬ original sound – b284849
Still, it’s unclear why J. Cole is interested in a Tesla, which has been mired in bad headlines for the better part of this year. While the Cybertruck has probably received the most flak from customers, some of the original Tesla models have become notorious for their mechanical issues, too. For instance, in May, one content creator alleged that a Tesla vehicle wouldn’t open its door in 93-degree heat, trapping her inside. That same month, another Tesla driver said that their car nearly drove head-on into a passing train at a rail crossing while in Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode.
Regardless of his preference in cars, though, viewers expressed disappointment that the dealership didn’t make more of an effort to court the rapper. Some said it was ludicrous for the manager to barely acknowledge J. Cole, especially considering he was likely the richest customer to come in that day.
“Bro got the most money in the building,” one person said.
“J cole would’ve been their richest customer,” another added. “They treating him like that is crazy.”
Others questioned whether race played a factor.
“And that right there is the BLK experience,” one user wrote.
“Those employees were hovering like they wanted him out,” another said.
“This is the racial discrimination Black people talk about all the time,” a third viewer added.
Then there were the viewers who attempted to make light of the situation. Fans of his music joked that this experience might influence new music from J. Cole.
“He gonna rap about this experience,” one viewer wrote.
“Bro is gonna send a dis track to Elon,” another quipped.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @b284849 via TikTok comment as well as to Tesla and J. Cole’s team by email.
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