Quote:
Originally Posted by Car-Addicted
Would-be Tesla buyers snub company as Musk's reputation dips
Mon, Apr 1, 2024
Caliber's "consideration score" for Tesla, provided exclusively to Reuters, fell to 31% in February, less than half its high of 70% in November 2021 when it started tracking consumer interest in the brand.
Tesla's consideration score fell 8 percentage points from January alone even as Caliber's scores for Mercedes, BMW and Audi, which produce gas as well as EV models, inched up during that same period, reaching 44-47%.
Reuters spoke to five marketing, polling and car experts who said controversies surrounding Musk's increasingly right-wing politics and public statements are weighing on Tesla's brand and demand.
"It is hard enough to win sales without getting into politics," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance found Tesla's reputation fell in 2023 in the United States, the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, and Australia. Tesla's reputation did not suffer in China, where access to news on the company and its CEO may have been limited, and Germany.
Kat Beyer, a climate activist in Wisconsin, said she wanted to avoid Tesla because of Musk's support for Republicans, but wound up buying a Model Y last year because of a lack of EVs with reliable charging infrastructure.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla...100751111.html
So it really is about politics when it comes to one particular group. 
I guess since Musk is now a right-wing zellot I should run right out and buy a Tesla. When Pigs fly. 
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This is exactly what I'm talking about. Politics gets intertwined into everything now unfortunately. The loudest and craziest speaking person in the room tends to get the attention. This politics today. Anger and NO COMPROMISING. It's one party or no party. Nothing in the middle.
It's Musk's own damn fault for going off the deep end in the last 5 years. Tesla's were largely purchased by more liberal and environmentally conscious individuals. Prior to around 2015, Musk was generally mum about political stuff. Then Musk got upset with California on many issues which I think he had some valid arguments. After that though, something snapped in him. He became very vocal, politicial, spewing conspiracy theories, Twitter, etc. I think he's also a product of all the fame and thinks that given his fame, he has the right answer and solution for everything. It's a common issue with wealthy and famous people. Bezos, Gates, and the like are similar. Now Musk has aligned himself with the Right, who largely oppose much in the way EVs and environmental matters and he's now alienated a large portion of his buyers/followers. He certainly doesn't help given that EV sales are tanking for other reasons.
Sometimes it's just better to keep your mouth shut when it comes to politics, especially when you're famous and are running a business. So many CEOs and the like have been destroyed in the last 5 years because they became way too vocal politically. Michael Lindell (My Pillow CEO) may take the win though