Elon Musk, the billionaire head of Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, is known for his outspokenness and sometimes controversial ideas. But lately, his increasingly conservative political positions are making more and more noise. And this could well have consequences for its companies, in particular Tesla, whose customers are starting to turn away.
Elon Musk, the billionaire and entrepreneur at the head of Tesla, SpaceX, X (Twitter) and Neuralink, continues to make headlines. But this time, it is not its technological prowess that is making the news, but rather its increasingly conservative political positions.
It must be said that the billionaire, known for his outspokenness and his sometimes controversial ideas, no longer hesitates to express very right-wing opinions, ranging from conspiracy theories to anti-woke, taking a hard line on immigration. He even warns against the birth crisis and wokism, thus becoming the spokesperson for the ideas held by the extreme right.
Political activism that could cost Tesla dearly
Until now, Elon Musk’s positions did not seem to have an impact on his companies. But, according to a recent survey from market research company Caliber, the number of potential Tesla buyers is declining, and that’s mainly due to Elon Musk himself.
According to Reuters, the proportion of American car buyers considering a Tesla fell to a new low of 31% in February of this year. This represents less than half the value in November 2021, when Caliber began measuring interest from these customers, the proportion was then 70% for the electric car manufacturer.
Although the data hasn’t been collected long enough to make a truly meaningful judgment, Caliber believes that Elon Musk’s polarizing personality is one of the biggest factors in this decline in customer trust. “ It is very likely that Elon Musk himself contributes to our reputation said Shahar Silbershatz, CEO of Caliber. He also justified this by the fact that his company found that 83% of Americans associate Elon Musk with Tesla.
Declining figures for Tesla
Tesla’s latest figures seem to confirm this trend. The automaker delivered a total of 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the 457,000 expected by analyst consensus. Its production also fell, to 433,371 (-8.5%).
The group explained this drop in volumes by the initial production phases of the new version of the Model 3 at its factory in Fremont, California. But it also faces strong competition in China with players like BYD, Xpeng and Nio.
It’s true that competition has never been so present, in China with new cars that are worrying the brand, and in Europe where electric SUVs are starting to offer real alternatives to the queen of the segment that was until now. now the Model Y.
It remains to be seen whether the billionaire will decide to moderate his speech or whether he will continue to fully assume his opinions, whatever the consequences. He could even go until supporting Donald Trump in the next American elections, although the latter is not a convinced defender of electric cars.