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

Senator, combat pilot and astronaut knows where it's at...

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a former Space Shuttle commander who used to work with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has ditched his black Tesla Model S after publicly feuding with the world’s richest person in recent weeks.

“When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country.

What matters is doing the right thing. I don't wanna drive a car built and designed by an asshole.

I bought a Tesla because it was fast like a rocket ship. But now every time I drive it, I feel like a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-14/after-elon-musk-calls-him-a-traitor-senator-mark-kelly-ditches-tesla

Didn’t we hear from a poster the other day that Musk isn’t rescuing astronauts in space, his employees are. Same logic.

Don’t forget Optimus, forecasting up to 100,000 next year and 1 million the year after and upwards from there.
Have to hand it to him, Grok is one of the most useful things I’ve used, giving Ara a body will be mind blowing. She’s hasn’t been updated in a while so struggles a little with the concept but she’s already offered to cook me dinner and do some cleaning once we get her some limbs. The other half is on notice.😁

That reminds me, let's ask Grok if Musk is hurting Tesla:

"Tesla’s global vehicle deliveries dropped 1% in 2024, from 1.81 million to 1.79 million, marking its first annual decline in over a decade. This dip coincided with Musk’s high-profile political involvement, including his support for Donald Trump and far-right movements in Europe, like Germany’s AfD party. In key markets, sales declines have been stark: a 59% drop in Germany and 63% in France in January 2025, alongside a 33% plunge in Australia for the same month compared to January 2024. Surveys and anecdotes tie some of this to Musk’s behavior—Brand Finance reported Tesla’s brand value fell 26% in a year, from $58.3 billion to $43 billion, partly attributing it to his “toxic politics.” In the UK, Electrifying.com found 59% of EV buyers were deterred by Musk, while in the US, Morning Consult noted a rise from 27% to 32% of buyers unwilling to consider Tesla between 2024 and 2025, linked to his political stances."

"Conclusion

Yes, Elon Musk is hurting Tesla as of March 15, 2025. The evidence of declining sales, stock value, and brand reputation outweighs the speculative benefits of his current influence, marking a shift from his earlier role as Tesla’s primary asset to a growing liability."

JP Morgan pointing to the collapse of Tesla to be history making for any auto maker. The decline in sales are not viewed to be because of the new Model Y.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-fall-grace-may-no-180054813.html

They've been considered grossly overvalued for years and amount to a meme stock. Sales are still going down and I'm not sure how you're gonna explain that away when it continues to happen throughout the year.

what’s Tesla’s current value?

Yep - Sunday morning still asleep 😁 - corrected now

I think if Tesla brand would become toxic, it would make sense to sell assests such as charging network, factories, technology, AI… This way new owners would not need to assume responsibility of recalls, servicing and warranties.

Yep, there's a slight irony that those unwilling to buy Teslas are referred to as "virtue signalers" while ev buyers have also often been referred to as such. It's a demographic that would make a point of not buying them.

That doesn't seem relevant? Nobody will hate buy a car.

I will never buy one of these again and I'm sure there is more out there in Ireland who are the same.

Mind you.. if they were much cheaper and better than the opposition I'd have to maybe change my stance. The thing is they let the Chinese copy everything so that tesla could sell in that market. Some of those cars are better than tesla with much faster charging and even the euro brands are catching them now.

Tesla, it must be said have been amazing in pushing electric vehicles to where they are. I just don't see them being among the big boys going forward.

I think your presumption is wrong, Tesla is extremely political brand so anything about them would easily hit first pages.

It is a politically motivated crime. Mainstream media in France and Germany reported on similar incidents that occurred in their countries just a few weeks ago.

Elon is highly political and is clearly the outspoken face of Tesla. He's a highly polarizing and, frankly, dangerous individual.
He is wielding his unimaginable wealth and his social media platform to influence U.S. and global politics for the worse. He, along with Trump, is actively trying to undermine and destabilise democracy many jurisdictions, except for Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia. He is spreading fascism, hate, and disinformation. Elon has primed the brand to suffer vandalism due to his behaviour.

I do not condone vandalism but I understand the context that has motivated groups, or individuals, to target Tesla in this manner.

Tesla is a car company, nothing more nothing less

These break-ins at dealerships were happening to Tesla and other car brands long before the crazy man went full Nazi.

But he owns 13% of an all electric car brand so the media must point out the flaws in that brand wherever they can!