Is Elon Musk hurting Tesla? (Mod Note Post #1)

People keep trying to defend Tesla with the "but chyna" Trump trope, but half of all Tesla's are made in China, and reportedly with a better build quality than from the USA.

95% of Apple devices are assembled in China and even those not assembled in China depend on nearly all the parts coming from Chinese supply chains. Iphones are now around 60% of the US phone market yet you'll never hear BYD bashers calling on people to smash their Apple products.

And even funnier Musk fans who care about Taiwan have to admit that Trump tariff's are driving Taiwanese manufacturers closer to the mainland!

I feel Tesla will collapse by the end of the year.

Depends largely on what the shareholders do. If they kick Musk out due to poor sales it will have a chance. If they let him stay then yeah it will collapse

And just before the election it hit $220. So an enormous and seemingly lasting gain because of the election result. I did not see that coming unfortunately 😫

Why on earth would Tesla collapse? They have very healthy margins and pretty healthy sales. Yeah a few ultra woke naive idiots are dumping their Teslas to buy Chinese cars endorsed by real dictators. But I can't see that having much of an impact on the TSLA share. In fact anyone can see for themselves the proof that it hasn't.

Can you prove that people are specifically buying Chinese EVs just to get at Musk?

There are non Chinese marques too.

There wouldn't be any proof of what you are looking for beyond anecdotal evidence but if Tesla sales are down and BYD, MG, and Geely group sales are up you could make the logical link between purchasers buying one over the other

Tesla sales down in France and Germany are most likely linked to Muskey's actions, yes

To be clear, my interest in cars is not influenced much by whatever values I want to 'project' in brand choice, so happy to own a Tesla on its own merits.

Regards Tesla's CEO, I think this piece on the link between the Tates and the Trump admin including Musk sort of expands on that 'disinformation space' that Zelensky cogently linked to Trump's world. It really does seem like these networks of people exist in a parallel universe shaped by online conspiracy theories and convenient excuses to cover their own felonies and moral shortcomings. In the cases of the Tates and Trump, they have a real-world validated history of sexual crimes and misdemeanours. To actually disassemble USAid because they believe it to be a global propoganda proponent of woke theory is seriously out there.

I really don't know Musk's personality well enough to know why he is so prone to conspiracy theories. He is obviously more intelligent than those reality TV charlatans and influencers, but lacks the psychological faculties to appraise truth through real-world interaction and empathy. It reminds me of a certain Fr. Ted writer who developed a fixation with transgender cultural shifts to the detriment of everything else.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/feb/21/andrew-tate-trump-administration

Exactly, a lot Musketeers simply don't understand that Nazi saluting or even mimicking one is a criminal offence in many European countries, and China too.

However in China Tesla's market share decline is probably mostly due a stale offering in a rapidly expanded market. Even Xiaomi who were more well known for kitchen appliances and gadgets now have fresher looking cars than Tesla.

Tesla going bust because of Musk may be the best thing for Tesla owners as the brand could be saved by someone else.

If it were me I'd definitely drop the Cybertruck and get a smaller car into the range.

You raise an interesting question. What does happen when the mothership stops asking for and providing data with these cars? Do they all grind to a halt as a result of "computer says [404]"?

I'm assuming nothing happens, same as if your car goes into an area of no coverage.

No idea, but the TSLA share doubled in value straight after the election. Like I said, I did not see that coming and I have no idea why it happened. It has come down a bit now (and so has the general market) but it is still up well over 50% higher than before the election. The only plausible reason I can think of is that the market as a whole reckoned that a Trump presidency (with Musk in a prime advisory role) is extremely good for business.

Well I have zero intention of moving on the model y. It would be really stupid financially and the damage is already done ( I.e the transfer of money from my account to Tesla). Going to use as much of the 20,000 km free supercharging as I can and enjoy the 0% finance. I don’t think they made a whole lot from it tbh.

I wouldn’t buy one today. Not overly fond of it as well as everything else.

Yeah, it's like the various "anti-woke" protests against variously Nike, Bud Lite etc. People buying them to destroy them in unimaginative ways to make a statement. Not the brightest protest. 🤣