Our congressional rep here in Asheville, Chuck Edwards (who serves NC-11, which constitutes not just Asheville, but the bulk of Western North Carolina), has—despite campaigning on a platform of downhome mountain values and emphasizing his blue collar roots and community college education—spent the bulk of 2025 (aka the second Trump presidency) defending and rationalizing the wealthiest men in America.
On March 30th, Edwards proudly (one could presume; he amplified the coverage on his Twitter channel) defended not only Elon Musk but also his company, Tesla, from everyday Americans, who, fed up with Trump seemingly being the puppet president for the richest man in the world, were protesting (and in lesser cases) vandalizing Tesla dealerships.
This was just a couple of months after Donald Trump essentially turned the White House lawn into a showroom, urging Americans to buy Teslas as an act of patriotism.
This might seem like old news for a June 2025 post. Still, while Edwards is stumping much less publicliy for Musk these days as his wealth declines and favor inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seems to be going to way of Anthony Scaramucci (remember that guy?), he’s still very much working for the wealthiest Americans, versus the consituenets of NC-11, I think his one time endorsing of the world’s richest man for an incident that occured outside his district (Edwards went on Fox News to comment on Tesla vandalism in Charlotte, which is located in NC-12, and repped by Democrat Alma Adams), shows what he values.
I also think showcasing how many of Edwards’s constituents can afford a a Tesla highlights just how much he doesn’t care about the people he ostensibly works for (there’s a reality where Edwards could be painted as out of touch, but I don’t think that’s the case; I think he truly would rather curry favor with the 1% rather than uphold represtenation for the people of Western North Carolina).
While Asheville itself is pretty affluent, with a high cost of living (Asheville’s cost of living is 2% higher than the rest of the state), in general, most Western North Carolinians aren’t rolling in money, and in Asheville itself, there’s enormous disparities between the people who help keep the Asheville tourism machine running, and the kind of people the tourism board and local government seem to court (which is a different piece for a different day).
According to the latest Census Data, the average household in Buncombe County (the County where Asheville sits) is $70,578, and the average per capita income is $40,879. In neighboring Henderson County, where Chuck Edwards lives and owns several McDonald’s franchises, the average household income is $67,623. The average per capita income is $38,976, which ironically, is $3,514 less than the cheapest Tesla, the Model 3, which starts at $42,490. The most expensive model, the illustrious (and picturesque!) Cyber Truck starts at $72,235, which, as you can see, is $1,657 more than the average household income of Buncombe County.
Editor’s Note: Household income generally refers to all household members’ combined annual gross income.
The average individual income in Asheville is $35,682, which is $6,862 less than the cost of the cheapest Tesla. Additionally, the closest Tesla dealership to anyone in NC-11 is in Charlotte, a minimum 2-hour drive.
Edwards took to Twitter on May 23, 2025, to defend his lords and saviors against, presumably, the constituents who accuse him of working for the rich over us. He said that “ Americans are demanding more fiscal responsibility, and the One Big Beautiful Bill delivers on that while standing for working families, economic freedom, and common sense.” I’ll just leave that there.
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