Few auto executives are more closely connected to the companies they run than Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and perhaps none are more vocal about their political views on social media.
But as Musk’s public image has become increasingly right-wing, Tesla appears to be paying the price in sales, particularly to liberal and left-leaning customers who are more likely to buy battery-powered cars than conservatives, said analysts and many car owners who responded to a survey on The New York Times website asking whether Musk’s actions had affected their views of Tesla.
His image as a quirky, impulsive executive appears to have spilled over into his cars, causing some to question the quality of the vehicles and helping to explain why Tesla’s sales have been sagging: On Tuesday, the company reported that global sales in the second quarter fell 4.8% from a year earlier, after falling 8.5% in the first three months of the year.
“Musk is really a lightning rod,” said Ben Rhodes, president of Battleroad Research, who has a generally favorable view of Tesla shares. “Some people trust him, some people revile him. There’s no doubt that some of the things he says are truly anathema to some. For some, it’s enough to make them buy other brands.”
Representatives for Tesla and its board of directors did not respond to requests for comment.
Among the more than 7,500 people who responded to The Times’ survey, some were put off by what they perceived as Musk’s anti-Semitic behavior, which he denies. Others were outraged by the way Musk has run Twitter (now renamed X) since buying the company in 2022. He has fired thousands of employees and removed guardrails for content shared on the social media platform. His growing friendships with former President Donald J. Trump and other prominent conservative figures were also cited as a concern. The vast majority of readers who responded to the survey were critical of Musk.
“It’s basically like driving around wearing a giant red MAGA hat,” said Aaron Shepherd, a product designer at Microsoft in Seattle, who said he plans to buy an electric Volkswagen ID.4 instead of a Tesla.
It’s unclear what price Tesla has paid for Musk’s political comments and activism. What is clear is that Tesla, once the world’s largest seller of electric cars, has lost market share in many countries for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is that Tesla relies on its Model Y sport utility vehicle and Model 3 sedan for most of its sales, which haven’t been significantly improved in years. Other companies are luring buyers by introducing new and improved cars more frequently.
In China, domestic automakers such as BYD are catching up with Tesla by offering more affordable cars with rotating screens and other technologies that appeal to Chinese consumers. In Europe, BMW, Volkswagen and other local brands are doing well by offering cars that are more expensive or cheaper than Tesla. And in the United States, Hyundai-Kia, Ford Motor and General Motors are boosting sales by offering a wider range of models.
Times readers who responded to an online survey said they were put off by Musk’s comments and their experiences with Tesla’s cars and services, which sells and services vehicles directly without going through dealers.
“There was a time when we would have given Musk our organs if he needed them,” said Tim Yoakam, an engineering director at a software company. But Yoakam, who lives in Chicago, said he’s had problems with his Tesla Model S and isn’t happy with the company’s repair, maintenance and service. Musk’s right-wing shift also irks him.
“Tesla is the only manufacturer in the modern era that has had no qualms about allowing its CEO to disparage its company,” Yoakum said. “This will be the last Tesla I own.”
The comments underscore a recent decline in Tesla’s reputation, with the company dropping to 63rd place in the 2024 Axios Harris Poll 100, which asked respondents about their opinions of corporate brands. In 2021, the company was ranked 8th.
Musk maintains that his public statements and persona don’t affect Tesla’s sales. “We build the best cars,” he said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in November. “Whether you hate me, love me or are indifferent, do you want the best car or don’t you want the best car?”
Musk still has a legion of ardent fans, some of whom say his public comments would not influence their decision to buy a Tesla, and many who credit him with pushing the auto industry to build electric cars and becoming a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.
“Musk led a company that successfully disrupted a corrupt and lazy auto industry,” said Julien Memle, a software engineer in San Francisco. Though he’s no fan of Musk, Memle said, “I’m mature enough to separate these concerns from consumer product choices.”
Robert Dean, an architect in Reading, Connecticut, agrees: “Musk is an enormous, disruptive talent with the potential to transform and positively impact the world we live in. And while he’s an eccentric character, I won’t marry him. I will buy cars from the company he leads so brilliantly.”
Most Tesla shareholders remain heavily supportive of Musk: Last month, investors overwhelmingly approved a $45 billion compensation plan for him.
But car buyers and analysts who spoke to The Times said Musk’s political activism has clearly hurt Tesla’s reputation among left-leaning consumers, and there’s little evidence that Musk’s shift to the right has encouraged more conservatives to buy Tesla. In fact, 77% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters said they have no interest in battery-powered cars this year, up from 70% last year, according to the Pew Research Center.
“Musk may be courting people who are sympathetic to his position,” said Greg Silverman, director of global brand economics at Interbrand, a consulting firm that advises clients on marketing strategies. But he added that it’s “highly unlikely” that Musk is attracting more customers rather than alienating them.
Interbrand research has found that when a CEO or other company representative upsets customers, sales can fall by up to 10 percent, Silverman said.
The concerns of some car owners extend beyond Musk’s political comments. They cited accusations of racism at Tesla factories and the perception that Musk has promoted racist content on X. Tesla denies that it tolerates discrimination in its factories.
“My mother was seriously considering buying a Tesla,” said Akidi Ndifan, 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 Morff, a high school math teacher in Verona, New Jersey, who owns a Tesla car, reported being alarmed when Tesla removed the Disney+ app from some dashboard screens late last year, apparently because Mr. Musk was upset with Disney CEO Robert A. Iger.
Morf wasn’t too concerned about the Disney app, since he barely used it, but he was concerned that “the functionality of the car I bought could be changed in an instant by a single person with that level of authority.”
These concerns could hurt Tesla as it pours resources into self-driving technology, with Musk promising to unveil a self-driving taxi on Aug. 8. Without consumer trust, the technology won’t take off.
Many of the Times’ readers pointed out that other car companies had problems too: Volkswagen had been in an emissions scandal a few years ago, Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford had harbored and promoted anti-Semitic views, and GM was accused of selling cars with defective ignition switches that killed more than 100 people a decade ago.
Incumbent car companies still sell gasoline-powered cars that emit greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Tesla only sells electric cars.
But perhaps no other auto executive today wields a bigger megaphone, or is more willing to use it.
“I think people who think other CEOs are saints are a bit naive,” said Jan Reyes, a Tesla owner who lives in Zurich. “They just don’t have the big mouth or platform that Elon Musk has.”
