Tesla stirred online attention this week with a social media post referencing the backlash against American Eagle’s new ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, as reported by The New York Post.
The electric car company posted a video to X on Wednesday showing a robotic arm performing durability testing on Tesla car seats with the caption, “Our seats robot also has great jeans.”
Our seats robot also has great jeans pic.twitter.com/BCVJEtxbnD
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 30, 2025
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The post was widely interpreted as a jab at American Eagle’s recent “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ad.
Tesla followed up the post with a second one-word comment: “Seatney,” playing off the actress’s name and the brand’s tagline.
TESLA USES SYDNEY SWEENEY AD CONTROVERSY TO FLEX ITS CAR SEAT TESTING STRATEGY! $TSLA
• Tesla capitalizes on the buzz around Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad to showcase its in-house seat testing
• Tesla humorously calls its seat-testing robot “Sydney Seatney,”… pic.twitter.com/h2g2Lm5LH1— Tesla Archive (@tesla_archive) July 30, 2025
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The ad in question features Sweeney approaching a billboard that reads, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.” In the video, the 27-year-old actress crosses out the word “Genes” and replaces it with “Jeans.”
I’ve lost count of how many Hollywood agents rejected me, saying ‘white blondes’ are the least in demand.
Sydney Sweeney is undeniably blessed with great genes.
Do you support her American Eagle ad? pic.twitter.com/YLuJjnomY9
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) July 29, 2025
According to American Eagle, the campaign is described as “a return to essential denim dressing and a celebration of what the beloved brand does best: making customers look and feel good in AE Jeans.”
The campaign has received widespread criticism online, with some claiming the ad promotes racial exclusion and “regressive” themes.
Critics have pointed to Sweeney’s appearance—blonde hair and blue eyes—and the original use of the word “Genes” as potentially signaling “eugenics movements.”
One X user posted, “It sounds like a white purity dog whistle, and that’s why people are uncomfortable.”
Valid honestly:
I mean saying ‘my genes are blue’ with a blonde, blue-eyed actress just hits weird. It sounds like a white purity dog whistle, and that’s why people are uncomfortable. pic.twitter.com/QBmVvouTue— Bonkiasin (@bonkiasin_eth) July 29, 2025
American Eagle has not responded to a request for comment from FOX Business regarding the controversy.
Eugenics is defined by the National Institutes of Health as “the use of selective breeding to improve the human race.” Some online critics have linked the wordplay in the ad to this concept, sparking outrage despite the ad’s charitable component.
American Eagle’s website states that proceeds from “The Sydney Jean” will support Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization providing free, 24/7 mental health support.
The jeans also feature a butterfly motif on the back pocket, which the brand says represents awareness for domestic violence, a cause Sweeney publicly supports.
Piers Morgan weighed in on X, writing:
“The Sydney Sweeney furor perfectly epitomizes why the woke left is so bonkers. They call everyone a Nazi or white supremacist, even when she’s obviously neither, and they hate women celebrating beauty and sex appeal. It’s why woke is dead — we all just laugh at their idiocy now.”
The Sydney Sweeney furore perfectly epitomises why the woke left is so bonkers.
They call everyone a Nazi or white supremacist, even when she’s obviously neither, and they hate women celebrating beauty & sex appeal. It’s why woke is dead – we all just laugh at their idiocy now. pic.twitter.com/YaPj58afz1— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 30, 2025
As criticism of the ad continued, American Eagle’s stock price experienced a decline.
Tesla’s satirical post added a new layer to the controversy, with many social media users interpreting it as a corporate pushback against cancel culture and online outrage.
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