Tesla’s Image Suffers Under Elon Musk’s Controversies
Data from the Danish market research company Caliber, reported by the Spiegel, show that Tesla’s image has significantly deteriorated in recent months due to the controversies surrounding its CEO, Elon Musk.
According to the data, in the US, the percentage of potential customers willing to buy a Tesla product has dropped from 46% in January 2022, before Musk’s Twitter takeover, to 25% in November 2024. Although this value increased slightly to 32% in December, Caliber’s CEO, Shahar Silbershatz, does not expect a rapid recovery of the brand’s strength.
Caliber, which conducts online surveys in over 40 countries, including the US, Germany, and China, has found that Tesla’s image has consistently suffered in these markets.
Silbershatz believes that while not all of Tesla’s image crisis can be attributed to Musk, he does play a significant role due to his strong association with the company. “At other companies, people hardly think of the CEO when they buy a product. At Tesla, it’s different” he said.
In Germany, the decline in Tesla’s image is not as severe, with the willingness to buy a Tesla product decreasing from 30% in January 2022 to 25% in December 2024. However, Silbershatz predicts that the trend could intensify if Musk continues to exert influence on European politics, polarizing the brand and causing it to suffer.
Elon Musk has recently been supporting right-wing and right-extremist personalities, and has been increasingly involved in European politics. He has endorsed the German AfD in the Bundestag election and repeatedly attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.