Tesla owners outraged by Elon Musk's support for Donald Trump

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Elon Musk has never really hidden the fact of having some of his political ideas aligned with those of Donald Trump. Support that he explicitly displayed after the attempted assassination of the ex-president on July 13; support which would also be accompanied by a promise of financial support for the 2024 campaign of the ex-president. According to Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal, Musk wanted to finance the latter to the tune of 45 million dollars per month that he would give to a support group for the Republican candidate.

A information that the businessman denied today on his X.com account, explaining “ It's beyond stupid. I never said I gave $45 million a month to Trump – that's a completely false article. In any case, this support, even if it may not translate into this financing, causes deep unease among Tesla owners. Between remorse and indignation, buyers of these electric vehicles find themselves facing a moral and political dilemma.

A dizzying decline in popularity

Elon Musk's recent statements have had unexpected repercussions on Tesla's image. According to a study conducted by CivicService and relayed by Yahoo Finance, the enthusiasm of registered Democrats for the automobile brand is growing. is significantly eroded, from 39% in January to a meager 16% in July.

< p>This segment of the population, traditionally fond of electric vehicles, now seems to be turning away from Tesla. Ross Gerber, partner at Gerber Kawasaki and long-time investor in the company, expresses his dismay: “This latest stance from Elon has put me in a very difficult moral position. I drive a Cybertruck and now I feel like I have a MAGA truck [Editor's note: Make America Great Again, a slogan from Reagan that Trump adopted] .”

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Paradoxically, Tesla's appeal has also faded among Republicans, falling from 36% to 23% over the same period. This broad decline suggests that Musk's outspoken support for Trump has not appealed to conservative buyers either. John Dick, chief executive of CivicService, highlights a deeper trend: “The data consistently reveals that Democrats, more than Republicans, closely associate Elon Musk and his actions with Tesla's brand image “.

A brand in danger

The economic consequences of this position are alarming. Mark Spiegel, bearish speculator on Tesla, criticizes Musk's impact on brand image and warns of a possible boycott “disastrous » from the Democrats if the billionaire persists in his conservative rhetoric. “ It has completely alienated most of its buyer base. This will kill the company» he explained to Yahoo.

Besides, Musk has recently made a number of controversial statements. After years of sporadic remarks deemed disrespectful by the transgender community, he lashed out at his own transgender child, saying in an interview with Jordan Peterson (professor emeritus of psychology at the ;University of Toronto and figure of the American alt right), that the latter had been “ annihilated ” by the “ virus of woke ideology ”.

In addition, Musk this month announced the move of SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas, a state considered more conservative, citing his opposition to California's policies supporting the rights of transgender children . The year 2024 was already not a good year for Tesla, which risks seeing its brand image even more damaged after these recent events.

• Elon Musk recently expressed support for Donald Trump, causing unease among Tesla owners.
• Tesla's popularity has dropped significantly among both Democrats and Republicans, according to a study by CivicService.
• Musk's controversial statements and opposition to California's policies on the rights of transgender children have also damaged Musk's brand image. Tesla.

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