https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/10/his-rhetoric-has-made-tesla-toxic-is-elon-musk-driving-away-his-target-market
There are signs the billionaire is becoming unpopular with the very demographic group most likely to buy EVs
There are signs the billionaire is becoming unpopular with the very demographic group most likely to buy EVs
It's not driving away his target market, it's fully changed it. His target market is now MAGA brain-rot Republican weirdos, who also want an EV. It's not a big market.
People with concern for and a desire to do something about Climate Change are the largest demographic buying EVs, and they are a very left-leaning bunch. To say Elon's rhetoric has pushed that market section away is a dramatic understatement.
I did buy a Tesla years ago. Won’t consider replacing it with another one when the time comes…
I mean my wife and I are a perfect example. After moving into our home I had every intention of getting a Tesla for us both and putting in a home charger. I will say we LOVE our Hyundai Ioniq 6 and will be waiting to see what they release next. Tough shit Elon.
I'm a less perfect example. Wanted to buy an EV but Teslas were probably too expensive for me to even consider. I don't know for sure because I literally never even looked at the Tesla options. I love my Chevy Bolt EUV that I plug into a normal 120 V exterior outlet. Fuck off, Elon.
There are signs the billionaire is becoming unpopular…
It’s been Times Square billboards for a while now.
I've blocked Twitter, I bully Teslas in traffic, I charge double my regular rates to install Starlink(s) and I steadfastly refuse to have Starlink on my own vessel until Dickhole has divested himself.
It's not much, but it's honest effort.
I bully car drivers in traffic. If a car is stopped in the middle of the pedestrian crossing I give the hood a bang with my hand as I pass. But honestly anyone who drives a car deserves to be made fun of.
If you touched someone’s private property because you don’t like where it’s currently stopped it says more about you then them.
Stopping in the middle of pedestrian crossings is illegal. The car is using a public road, and not following the social contract. I think drivers who behave that way should forfeit their cars.
I break the law in prosocial ways. Stopping in pedestrian crossings is antisocial. I'm physically abled, but what if someone with a wheelchair or a walker needs to cross? They can't do that if there's a car in the way. The strong have an ethical duty to protect the weak from the strong. If I was a better person, I'd be spitting on the cars instead of just annoying the drivers with a tap.
Being a public nuisance is also illegal, as is property damage.
The driver in this imaginary scenario is a real dickhead, but you're also a massive twat.
Whatever makes you feel like a badass and helps you forget you're just a normal asshole.
Mercs, BMW, Lexus, RRover, Tesla, they can all fucking wait because we all know those drivers are twats.
What gets me is that he’s hitched himself to the MAGA ride when the other way would’ve been far more lucrative in the short and long term.
Big brain dude
Seriously, build an expensive high-end product, then alienate all the "elite" who would buy it. Brilliant business plan.
Um, I hate to burst your bubble but I live in a pretty well-to-do county and it's only after he went fascist that Teslas started taking off here.
Might want to consider reading up on the petite bourgeoisie and their role in the rise of Nazi Germany.
But far less conducive to his pathological narcissism. In maga he can cultivate the personality cult he so desperately craves.
He used to be tech jesus which would have only grown had he not went off the deep end!
Maybe it’s the brain worm. Or maybe it’s all a deep ruse to convert the cult to electric for the good of humanity. The coal rollers
Zero emotional intelligence. What a stupid, stupid man-child. In retrospect, it is utterly unsurprising that he dove in head first on red pill, pro-maga, pro-putin joe rogan toxic meathead idiocy.
I mean, not much intelligence, period. The only thing Elon ever did intelligently is invest his father's blood diamond money.
Tesla's image is definitely tarnished. It may not be meaningfully affecting their bottom line or forecasts yet, but a bad reputation is hard to fix. As competitors start to step up and current owners look to replace their aging Teslas over the next few years, it's going to make a difference. I've got high hopes for Rivian, personally.
He's driving away current owners. My car is currently at Tesla Collision and I went to grab belongings from it. My little dog took a giant Elon on the lawn and they didn't have a garbage can to dispose of the bag.
Bought a mach e instead of a model 3 or y because Elon is a dick. Glad to stick it to the wanker. The mach e is awesome btw 👍
I got a Model S Plaid delivered shortly after release. Previously owned a Model 3. It is my favorite / best car I've had and I've gone through ~20. Including a Chevy Bolt and Volt.
But, my next car will not be a Tesla. In fact, I've gone from thinking I'd keep this long-term to finding an alternative. I'm even semi-embarassed to be seen driving it which sucks.
I also had a Cybertruck reservation (yeah yeah, I know). But when our delivery came due we passed.
Rode in a friend's Ioniq the other day and it was pretty solid. Also sat in my other friend's Rivian R1T and liked it well enough.
If Tesla is wondering why sales are declining they need look no further than their leadership. I'd be willing to consider the cars again if Elon was out - but apparently the board is too stupid to do that.
Hate the man, hate the cars. Im not even kidding buy any other ev and theyre so much better.
It's hard to feel like you're making any impact in saving the environment when you're actively funneling money towards a guy who has straight up tried to hamstring and dismantle the EPA. Funding Elon is funding Trump and funding Trump makes one complicit
Yep, a Model Y Long Range would make a lot of sense for us as our next car. But it is absolutely not being considered. Not only do we not want to give the company our business, but I'd be too embarrassed to be seen in one...and this is coming from someone with a missing hubcap on their 20yo econobox.
He's trying to sell EVs to the truck nuts demographic, so, yeah, I'd say things aren't really going super well...
He's still the same wannabe edgelord he's always been. Hard to believe his target market is bothered by that.
Shareholders, on the other hand, might have issue with what he's doing and its effect on the stock price.
You're wrong. He didn't always spout Nazi bullshit. That's a huge change that happened in the last couple of years.
I have coworkers who worked with him in the past, and I can say with 100% certainty that he's always been like this. He's just more open about it now/his PR team isn't keeping it from the public.
The next Tesla will be a diesel version of the Cybertruck, for real men who don’t drive sissy electric cars. And it’ll have a “roll coal” button as standard.
This is stupid enough to become truth, but also my plant loving heart jumped a bit because Carex (sedge).
They do have some QC issues that are a bit concerning, but the primary factor for me is not giving that dickhead any money. I would otherwise buy one.
