Musk’s speech is affecting Tesla, yes, his own brand, the one that turned electric cars into a symbol of innovation…
According to a study from Yale University, Musk has caused Tesla to lose more than one million sales in the United States since 2022, and his political shift toward the far right (that “Roman” salute, Musk…) and his constant controversies have not gone unnoticed.
The report, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), estimates that Tesla’s sales could have been between 67% and 83% higher (about 1.26 million more cars) if it were not for what researchers call “the Musk partisan effect”.
Don’t mix politics with work
Some years ago, Musk was seen as a superhero (with a bit of ego, they swear) who wanted to save the planet (SuperMusk) with his electric cars, but since he bought Twitter, his image has taken a radical turn. Yes, radical toward the far right, to be more accurate.
Today, his social network has become a loudspeaker for far-right ideas and discourse. Musk criticizes progressive groups, supports conspiracy theories, and allows fascism to spread freely through “ghost” accounts.
And of course, many of Tesla’s customers were precisely progressive and eco-conscious, the same ones he now calls “wokes”.
Tesla loses its shine
The car that was once the dream of every environmentalist is no longer in fashion. Many former customers now prefer to move to competitors like Rivian, Lucid, or even Ford’s electric vehicles, all to avoid supporting Musk and his extreme rhetoric.
The Yale study
Researchers even found that every time Musk posts a controversial political statement, Tesla searches and sales drop in progressive states… while they rise slightly in conservative ones. What a surprise!
In other words, Musk is turning his brand into a political symbol, and that, for a global product, is a huge mistake.
The “Musk effect”
There’s no similar case in history; never before has such a powerful company seen its sales fall because of its founder’s personal ideology. Maybe that whole “your vote is secret” idea is something he should have stuck to instead of speaking out.
It’s being called the “Musk partisan effect,” and it’s already being studied in marketing as a case of how political polarization can directly influence consumer behavior.
And the forecasts?
If Musk keeps this up, Tesla could lose up to 20% more of its market share in the premium electric vehicle segment before 2027.
Competitors take advantage of the damage
While Musk gets tangled in Twitter debates, Ford is doubling its sales, Lucid Motors is increasing its main model’s sales by 40%, and BYD is gaining ground.
Maybe Musk should put down his phone for a moment and actually run his company, right?!
Yes, Tesla is still one of the giants in the industry, but a CEO’s image means everything for a brand. So if Tesla wants to return to what it once was, it will have to distance itself either from Musk’s political noise, or maybe from Musk himself. Otherwise, this could end up being a big problem for the brand.
Millions of dollars lost over an ideology that goes against immigrants, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and human rights… Who could have imagined that? Musk, maybe you should learn to stop tweeting, put down the phone, and go back to being the respectable face of a brand, instead of continuing to polarize the debate.