Few auto industry executives are as closely identified with the companies they run as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and arguably none are more prolific in airing their political views on social media.
But as Musk’s public persona has grown increasingly right-wing, Tesla appears to be paying a price in sales, especially to liberal and left-leaning customers who are far more likely to buy battery-powered cars than conservatives, according to analysts and many car owners who responded to a questionnaire on The New York Times website about whether his behavior affected their views of Tesla.
His image as an erratic and impulsive manager appears to have influenced the cars, raising doubts in some people about their quality and helping to explain why Tesla sales have been falling. On Tuesday, The company reported that its global sales in the second quarter fell 4.8 percent from the same period a year earlier, after a drop of 8.5 percent in the first three months of the year.
“Musk is a real lightning rod,” said Ben Rose, president of Battle Road Research, who has a generally positive view of Tesla stock. “There are people who think highly of him and people who criticize him. To be sure, some of his comments are really off-putting to some people. For a subset, enough to make them buy another brand.”
Tesla and a representative for the company's board of directors did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of the more than 7,500 people who responded to The Times’ questionnaire said they were offended by what they perceived as anti-Semitism on Mr. Musk’s part, something he denies. Some were upset by the way Mr. Musk has handled twitter, now called x, since he bought the company in 2022. He has fired thousands of employees and removed guardrails on content shared on the social media platform. His increasingly friendly relations with former President Donald J. Trump and other conservative figures were also cited as concerns. A large majority of readers who responded to the questionnaire were critical of Mr. Musk.
“You're basically driving around in a giant red MAGA hat,” said Aaron Shepherd, a Microsoft product designer in Seattle, who said he planned to buy an electric Volkswagen ID.4 instead of a Tesla.
It’s not possible to know what price Tesla has paid for Musk’s political statements and activities. What is clear is that Tesla, once the dominant seller of electric vehicles worldwide, has lost market share in many countries for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is the company’s reliance on the Model Y sport-utility vehicle and the Model 3 sedan, which have not been substantially updated in years, for nearly all of its sales. Other companies are luring buyers by introducing new or updated cars more frequently.
In China, domestic automakers such as BYD have gained ground on Tesla by offering more affordable cars with tech features that appeal to Chinese consumers, such as rotating screens. In Europe, BMW, Volkswagen and other local brands are finding success by offering cars that are more luxurious or cheaper than Tesla. And in the U.S., Hyundai-Kia, Ford Motor and General Motors have boosted sales by offering an ever-widening selection of models.
Times readers who responded to the online questionnaire said they had been put off by Musk’s remarks and by their experience with Tesla’s cars and service operations (the company sells and repairs cars directly, rather than through dealerships).
“There was a time when I would have given Musk an organ if he needed one,” said Tim Yocum, an engineering director at a software company. But Yocum, who lives in Chicago, said he had had problems with his Tesla Model S and had been dissatisfied with the company’s repair and maintenance services. Musk’s shift to the right has also rankled him.
“Tesla is the only manufacturer in modern times that has unabashedly allowed its CEO to live up to his good name,” Yocum said. “This car will be the last Tesla he owns.”
These comments help shed light on surveys that say Tesla's reputation has suffered recently. The company fell to 63rd place on the list of the most influential companies of 2024. Axios Harris 100 Pollin which respondents were asked about their opinions on corporate brands. In 2021, the company ranked eighth.
Musk has maintained that his public statements and image do not affect Tesla sales. “We make the best cars,” he said at the Times’ DealBook Summit in November. “Whether you hate me or like me or are indifferent, do you want the best car or not?”
Musk still has many passionate fans, and some said the executive's public statements would not influence their decision to buy a Tesla. Many people credited him with pushing the auto industry toward producing electric vehicles, a powerful tool in combating climate change.
“He has run a company that has managed to destabilize a corrupt and lazy automotive industry,” said Julian Mehnle, a software engineer who lives in San Francisco. While not a Musk fan, Mehnle said, “I am an adult enough to separate these concerns from my choice of consumer products.”
Robert Dean, an architect living in Redding, Connecticut, echoed those sentiments: “Musk is a gigantic, disruptive talent with a transformative and positive effect on the world we live in. He also has an eccentric personality, but I’m not marrying him; I’m buying cars from a company he runs brilliantly.”
Most Tesla shareholders remain largely supportive of Musk. Last month, investors backed by a wide margin a $45 billion compensation plan for him.
However, car buyers The Times heard from and analysts said Musk’s political activity had clearly damaged the company’s reputation among left-leaning consumers. And there is little evidence that Musk’s shift to the right has attracted more conservatives to buy Teslas. In fact, 77 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters said this year they were not interested in battery-powered cars, versus 70 percent who said the same last yearaccording to the Pew Research Center.
“He may be winning over some people who like his position,” said Greg Silverman, global head of brand economics at Interbrand, a consulting firm that advises clients on marketing strategies. But, he added, the odds that Musk is attracting more customers rather than alienating them “are very low.”
Interbrand research indicates that a CEO or other company representative who offends customers can reduce sales by as much as 10 percent, Silverman said.
Some car owners’ concerns went beyond Musk’s political statements. They cited allegations of racial discrimination at Tesla factories or the perception that he has allowed racist content to flourish at x. Tesla has denied that it tolerates discrimination at its factories.
“My mother was seriously considering buying a Tesla,” said Achidi Ndifang, who works in information technology in Baltimore. “As a black person, I felt it would be an insult for my mother to drive a Tesla.”
Derek Morf, a high school math teacher in Verona, New Jersey, who owns a Tesla, reported that he was alarmed when Tesla… Disney Plus app has been removed from some instrument displays late last year, apparently because Musk was angry with Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of Disney.
Morf didn't care much for the Disney app, which he barely used. But, he said, he found it disturbing “that the vehicle I bought could have its features changed in an instant simply because one man had so much control.”
These concerns could be a drag on Tesla, which is pouring resources into self-driving technology. Musk has promised to unveil a self-driving taxi on August 8. The technology cannot succeed without consumer trust.
Many Times readers pointed out that other car companies were having problems, too. Volkswagen had an emissions scandal a few years ago. Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor, held and spread anti-Semitic views. A decade ago, GM sold cars with faulty ignition switches that were blamed for more than 100 deaths.
Established car companies continue to sell gasoline-powered cars that emit greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Tesla sells only electric cars.
But probably no other auto executive today has a megaphone as loud as Musk's, or is more willing to use it.
“If people think that CEOs of other companies are saints, in my opinion they are a bit naive,” said Jan Leys, owner of Tesla in Zurich. “They just don’t have as big a mouth or as big a platform as Elon Musk.”
