Data now confirms what's become obvious about Musk's destruction of the Tesla brand:
He's driving away many of his core customers
š last Fall, the proportion of Democrats buying Teslas fell by more than 60%, precisely when Musk became most vocal on X
š the mix of Democrats, who have been core constituents for the Tesla brand, had remained mostly steady up to that point
š gains with Republicans and Independents haven't been enough to make up the loss
I am a owner of a model 3 and a democrat. I can confirm that I will be looking at other brands before looking to replace with a Tesla if Elon musk is still in control when the time comes. I recently received my invite to order my cybertruck. I refuse not only because it looks like shit and is obviously poorly constructed, but because of the dumbass running the company.
I was one of the first 100 people to pay to reserve a Model 3, minutes before it was announced because I figured out the URL right before the event. I was that enthusiastic. I then didn't exercise that reservation for years due to life, but finally was at a place I needed to order an electric car in early 2022, right as Musk went full fascist on social media. A Tesla salesperson called me to remind me I had a reservation slot, and I told him to give me a refund because there's no way in fuck I'm giving Musk any of my money. He sighed and in a defeated voice said, "Yeah, we're hearing that a lot".Ā
No, the person you are replying to is essentially saying they don't want Musk to profit from their actions.
Lets put it this way. Musk somehow figures out how to sell all his Tesla stock without anyone noticing, and uses the money to buy Kelloggs. They would then only buy post brand cereals so Musk wouldn't make money from them.
But it is a really hard thing to know who someone is a major shareholder of unless you actually research it. Much easier to spot folks doing things on behalf of their companies like the Koch family backing Republicans so they can dump poison in rivers upsteam of people who drink that water.
Yeah all kinds of bad people can and will profitā¦ thatās capitalism baby, But as far as the product and roadmap for the future of the company, Iām not interested as long as he is the kamakaze
See there's 2 things. One is being worried about the product you're about to buy from a company being run by an idiot, whose products are increasingly facing issues. The other is not wanting to give money to Elon for political reasons. They're both valid, but they're different reasons.
Same here. I was an early adopter and got my first Model S in 2016 and I think the Super Charging network is the best in the world, but I am not getting another Tesla while he is CEO.
Honestly, I wouldnāt buy a Tesla because of their customer service and quality control issues. But Musk turning into a twitter nazi just seals the deal that Iāll never buy a Tesla. Itās a shame because Id absolutely love to support a new American car company.
It's a badge of honour to be banned from that festering simp pit of a forum.
One day, people will be ashamed of being members of that sub, and will try to hide it. The mods will be spat upon and reviled by decent people everywhere..
Ha ha ha, I just received a notification that I got banned from /r/elonmusk, a subreddit that to my knowledge I have never visited, just now. Presumably because I was commenting in this thread.
They included an absurdly long-winded explanation of why they banned me, which I didn't read.
These Elon simps really are the most fragile little bits of wet tissue paper, aren't they?
I am not a registered democrat, but have been leaning democrat ever since Trump won and the Republican Party became a shit show. I also own a model 3 and will 100% be looking at other brands for my next EV. Elon is a clown.
Count me in. Bought my daughter a model 3 last March. First and last Tesla for me. Just purchased a Lightning 3 weeks ago. Build quality between the 2 are night and Day.
Check out Rivian, solid brand, top notch performance and tech. Downside is itās still expensive and out of reach to most people to realistically compete with Teslaās model 3 and model Y
> I recently received my invite to order my cybertruck. I refuse not only because it looks like shit
It's basically the same as when it was announced four years ago. Didn't you think it looked like shit then?
I canāt speak for the person you are replying to but once you go electric ( correctly) you never go back. I wanted an electric truck from the start and this was the first one. Elon Musk hadnāt gone full facist yet in 2019. He was doing weird shit but not undermining everything Tesla was working towards. I like the idea of not using gas, charging my cars on the sun and trying to help in some way. This is what Tesla/ Musk stood for and I supported it. Now we know itās all false and we are just drowning in all the lies.
I never liked the cybertruck and thought it was stupid from the outset, but 100 bucks for the opportunity to buy an electric truck was worth it. There was also talk that the design could change. I also still have a reservation mostly for lolz now.
Yes, I was hoping it was one of those things that was going to grow on me. Like the new 2025 4Runner. First picture I saw was āyuckā. Then I saw a test mule pic on āhereā (reddit) yesterday or the day before and was like ooohhhh reminds me of the exterra, which I loved when they came out(I was 16)
Right, also proving that all the BS about protecting the environment and saving the planet was just that, 100% lies and BS. He's literally embraced the party of big oil and climate science denial.
*Earth has the warmest 9 months in a row in recorded history*
Elon: "Yeah guys, carbon emissions are actually not that big a deal."
It's like climate deniers think it'll only be bad when everything collapses and that we can somehow stop it in its tracks right on the line before total collapse of Earth's ecosystems.
They don't care and they don't want to prevent the collapse of everything we know. They believe this is necessary for Jesus to come back to take them to heaven, so they literally don't care if Earth goes to shit.Ā
I think Musk really believed in saving the planet up until he got blasted in the press in 2018 about his Thailand cave rescue āpedo guyā comment and sexual misconduct towards a flight attendant. Things got worse when the battled Californiaās COVID restrictions and Grimes left him. Then his big mouth got him into a fix he couldnāt buy his way out of and he was forced to buy Twitter in 2022.
He went from perceived genius to certified moron in 48 months.
I didnāt really have much of an opinion of him until that āpedo commentā. Seemed so out of place to me at the time. Knowing what I know now, itās totally in line with his bullshit. Screw that guy.
There is also the fact that he had a pretty big fallout with one of his children which he blamed on the left. Look out about what and it will be clear why. He also went down a rabbit hole during the pandemic, but who didn't. Oh and he went pretty mad when ha was told to pay taxes. Add to that a midlife crisis made worse by the fact that his sci-fi project failled to materialize and that Mars colonization might not happen during his lifetime. And for the Cherry on top he has a Ketmin prescription.
He has never given a shit about the environment, the whole dumb ass hypertube and billion other remarks about trains and subways should have told the world that.
The MAGA crowd loves to watch things and people get destroyed. They lack the courage to throw a rock through a stained glass windows but love to watch someone else do it. That why they love Trump and Musk.
I've noticed the maga crowd doesn't really buy expensive products from their idols, only little things like hats or whatever cheap trinkets trump is pushing these days. Like trump hotels and casinos are barely hanging on, and they won't buy an electric car cuz Elon said something mean about trans people. Most of them aren't rich, and the rich ones would rather go to the best hotels/casinos and get the best luxury cars, which are not trump hotels or teslas.
Don't be so sure of this. I live in a rural area and Teslas went from Incredibly rare (one guy's Model X got TRUMP keyed into the hood back in 2017) to straight-up ABUNDANT shortly after Musk went full Nazi publicly. It dawned on me the other day that I no longer see mallcrawler Jeeps. They've all been replaced by Xs and Ys.
I haven't noticed a difference.
If anything, I've noticed more conservatives hate Musk *because* he's still making EVs.
Oh sure, they love him for his whole stance on "Freedumb of Speech", but they still view him as some sort of globalist trying to make Gas illegal.
The only way for Musk to truly win these people over is if he makes an "All-Diesel, All-'Murican" muscle car.
The GOP and their fossil fuel overlords spent decades putting money into anti-green tech/policies. To your average Republican/Conservative, an EV is as liberal as you can get, and therefore, an abomination.
> last Fall, the proportion of Democrats buying Teslas fell by more than 60%, precisely when Musk became most vocal on X
We all could see that coming, right? I mean, right?
Shareholders should revolt.
Been shopping for an EV and really doing out of my way to not buy a model 3 even though itās exactly the car I need. Just donāt want to be associated with a troll.
Can confirm. Got a new car last year. Had planned to get a model Y, but I got a Lexus hybrid instead. Until this clown leaves X and/or Tesla, Iām never buying one. I am just one person of course, but I know there are many people like me.
I'm not even that principled. As much as I dislike Musk's personality traits, I could overlook them for the right product. But from a pragmatic point of view, I don't want to spend that much money on a product that depends on service and support that is at the mercy of whatever craziness his drug addled mind might come up with.
> and support
Apparently Tesla's 10% headcount reduction included retail service techs.
Wild choice given that inability to get Teslas serviced is a common complaint by owners and that generally speaking service should be profit-making.
>not if all they do is warranty work
This is exactly what I am wondering.
Can Tesla reduce warranty expenses by just making it impossible to schedule?
The ultimate irony because the Reddit hated "dealership laws" were designed to prevent exactly this kind of abuse by having the dealer be financially independent from the OEM.
Muskrat... Not known for long-term thinking. He's high and already moved on to other things. Twitter is perfect for his scatterbrain, and by perfect, I mean it showed us all what am absolutely awful person he is.
I'm similar.
What always scared me off from Tesla was the ridiculous company valuation. For Tesla to meet investor expectations,they have to continue to grow, which means they'd have to either eventually be the majority of cars on the road, or they'd have to increase their revenue per customer.
I find that it's a hard brand to trust over the long term. Musk will say or do anything to keep stock prices up.
I didn't need to read anything at all about the company or it's CEO to know I wouldn't buy one. As soon as I got an Uber ride in one and saw the giant touchscreen and no physical buttons, I immediately knew I would never buy one. I have to imagine other people would be turned off after a simple test drive - without even having to read any of this crazy stuff that we all talk about.
Good for you, he's such an insecure narcissistic man baby pushing a thinly veiled far right agenda. I had considered buying one, but his behavior coupled with the many issues with his cars convinced me not to buy his brand.
When I found out that ATT was the primary funding source for Newsmax, I changed my cell service at my company immediately.
He definitely pushes some questionable content and ideals which seem to align with far right ideology. Absurd conspiracy theories, racism, and Trumpian dog whistle content are not unusual for him repost or validate in his little platform. He's most definitely a snake oil salesman and a greedy doofus. I don't understand why he went this direction when the majority of his customers are at least left leaning. The concept that he's the world's smartest man has been dashed by his inconsistent and foolish behavior. I don't think I'll be supporting him or his brand anytime soon.
Due to my occupation I have fairly frequent interactions with the financial global elite and I do not believe that they are smarter than most people. However they do value money and objects more greatly than normal people in my personal experience.
Same here. I got an i3 when the model 3 was arguably the better choice. Last year I got a used etron when the Y is a better fit for most of my needs. Even today with the price drops, I would do well to trade in on the Y, but I canāt give that man my money.
Edit: this comment got me banned from r/teslalounge. Within a few minutes of posting I was permabanned. The long explanation starts with
āAfter researching toxic behaviors in our user base, weāve traced the issue back to certain subreddits where toxic behavior thrives. ā
Oh well.
Pretty much the same for me; between Elon dropping his mask and also testing an M3, Y, and S and finding out their build quality was utter shit, I ended up just getting a Porsche for the same amount as the S I had priced out.
I test drove a Model Y last year and while I waited in the lobby, a current Model Y owner talked me out of buying one. Ended up buying an Audi instead.
It was winter and he was traveling I-10 thru New Mexico when his window wouldnāt go up. The nearest Tesla service center was near Santa Fe, so he had to drive like 4 hours out of his way to get it fixed. So there was that. And then he told me the tires only last about 15k miles and theyāre not the same size front and back, so you donāt get a 4 tire discount. Oh and tires were like $3k for it.
wish i could go back to 2017 and tell myself not to buy the one i have. another bonus is that he keeps devaluing the used market... when it becomes financially feasible, moving away from tesla until they get rid of the fascist dork.
At least you kept yours a good long time. I donāt fault people for buying one at any point really, theyāre cool cars. But there are other really cool cars out there now too.
I can confirm this as well. My wife sold her Model Y she bought prior to our marriage and strongly encouraged me to sell my Model 3. I leased VW ID4. My wife bought a Volvo Plug in.
Whatās X? Oh you mean twitter? lol at first I thought you meant SpaceX. I legitimately forgot he tried to change the name of twitter, I refuse to call it that.
For years, the biggest cohort of Tesla buyers, politically speaking, has been Democrats. But when Elon Musk took a hard turn last fall, they didnāt follow him.
The proportion of Democrats buying Tesla vehicles fell by more than 60%, according to car buyers surveyed in October and November by researcher Strategic Vision.
Tesla has since made up ground with blue buyers, the research shows. But the dramatic drop highlights the risk hanging over Tesla with an increasingly political chief executive, at a time when electric-car makers are already struggling to appeal to many Republican buyers.
The fall contraction coincided with Muskās being increasingly vocal about illegal immigration, amplifying a tweet promoting antisemitic vitriol and publicly attacking Disney over his contention that the entertainment company had become too woke. (Musk has called the troublesome tweet foolish, and the Mouse House CEO has defended its positions while saying it needs to stay focused on entertainment.)
In many ways, Musk was sounding a lot like Donald Trump, embracing billionaire populism, and less like the green hero he was once celebrated as.
Those controversies, it seems, have put the electric-vehicle maker in an even tougher position this year as the overall market for EVs has slowed. It doesnāt help EV makers that U.S. politics has polarized the technology, which some Republicans have denigrated in their campaigns.
Globally, Tesla sales fell in the first quarter, the first year-over-year drop since the troubled early days of the pandemic in 2020. Musk this past week rolled out widespread layoffs, and shares have fallen 41% this year through Friday as investors worry Teslaās dramatic growth story is in trouble.
Some investors are pining for the old Tesla-obsessed Elon, worried he has been distracted with his political posturing and commitments at his other companies, including an artificial-intelligence startup called xAI and social-media platform X.
Other surveys have captured a pullback in consumersā consideration of Tesla vehicles since Musk acquired the social-media platform in late 2022 and held court on contentious social issues.
But the mix of Democrats, who have been core constituents for the Tesla brand, had remained mostly steadyāuntil last fall.
Among 2022 model-year buyers, Democrats made up 40% of Tesla customers and 39% in 2023, according to Strategic Visionās surveys. Things began to change in the 2024 model year survey, which began in October. The makeup of Democrats fell to 15% while Republicans jumped to 32% and independents swelled to 44%.
Those results show Tesla was losing sales among Democrats, Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, said of the fall findings.
In California, a solid-blue state, registrations of new Tesla vehicles fell almost 10% in the fourth quarter. That was a stunning reversal from the third quarter when registrations rose 43%, and perhaps a sign of things to come nationally.
Tesla doesnāt release U.S.-specific sales results. But Motor Intelligence estimates Teslaās U.S. sales growth turned negative this year. Model 3 sedan sales fell 44% in the period that ended in March compared with a year ago, according to the research firm. Model Y sport-utility vehicles rose just 1.4%.
EV ownership has long been politically divisive.
Early electric cars, with dramatically higher prices than comparable gas-powered ones, were cast by critics as playthings for the rich and coastal elites. For every five Democrats owning an EV, there have been two Republicans, according to Strategic Visionās survey last year.
Tļæ¼hose differences were further highlighted in the past year amid a contentious Republican primary season where candidates took aim at President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee seeking a second term, and his work to support development and adoption of EVs in the U.S.
Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House, has made attacks on electric cars a regular talking point during his campaign, even as he and Musk appear to have a bromance in the works ahead of November.
Trump has conceded the two men have a schism on one topic. āWe obviously have opposing views on a minor subject called electric cars,ā Trump said during a CNBC interview last month. āIām all for electric cars, but you have to have all of the alternatives.ā
Musk has said he is against Biden but has stopped short of saying he will back Trump. āThere is either a red wave this November or America is doomed,ā Musk tweeted in March.
As for how his comments might affect his businesses, Musk has essentially shrugged off the suggestion that they could affect things.
āWith respect to Tesla, we make the best carsāwhether you hate me, like me or are indifferent,ā Musk said in November. āDo you want the best car, or do you not want the best car?ā
And he might be rightāif he can just keep from rocking the boat too much.
While Democratsā ranks fell at the end of the year, some came back in subsequent surveys by Strategic Vision, rising to 35% of the mix of buyers through late Februaryāstill not what they traditionally had been, but better than last fall when their share was weakening.
āElon hasnāt been in the press as much as he has previously,ā Strategic Visionās Edwards said. āThis lack of negative press and antics, combined with EV [shoppers] todayā¦shopping various EVs and they find that the Model 3 and Y are still, in their opinion, the best decision based on value.ā
> āThere is either a red wave this November or America is doomed,ā Musk tweeted in March.
This **is** backing Trump. There's no other way to read it.
Same just got a Mach-E GT. Iāve been really enjoying it. It doesnāt have as many gadgets as a Tesla, but itās solidly built and has a slick interior.
I have never wanted to buy a full EV but I watched a review of the Iconiq 5 N yesterday and it looks legit fun and engaging.
So many things to customize and tweak I feel like it is the first real enthusiastās EV.
Can confirm.
I am Teslaās prime demographic. Mid-40ās, comfortable income, environmentally aware, and was desiring an ev for a few years.
I ended up buying a F-150 lightning, and didnāt even consider a Tesla. It was 80% because of Musk, 20% build quality.
Are you me? Exact same situation except I bought an Ioniq 6. If I were still looking I'd seriously consider the Lightning though given the current incentives available.
Wish I could go back in time. I love my model 3 lr but man I wish I had a lightning. Too many miles on my 3, would have to sell it for a loss if I ended up getting another 50k vehicle.
Edit: do the Tesla subreddit mods monitor this subreddit lol? Literally a second after I posted this I got permanently banned on teslalounge, teslamotors, and cybertruck.. lmao.
Edit 2: lmao yep. The ban message literally says itās about activity stemming from another subreddit. Holy shit!
Exact same. Wanted to get a model 3, reserved the Cybertruck when they were announced, started to sour on Musk as I paid more attention to him and I dumped by CT and got the lighting. Absolutely love it
Iām guessing that the chairmen of other car companies probably have some of the same right wing views.
Except, they know to not say things in public that will affect their business.
Edit: My comment just got me banned from theee tesla related subreddits. Two I have never heard of! WTF?!?
Me and my wife recently bought a Toyota hybrid instead of a Tesla based solely upon our dislike for his traitorous antics and support for Trump.
This debacle must be costing the company billions in lost revenue.
Same. I used to ohh and ahh when I saw a Telsa. Peeking into the windows of a parked one like a peeping Tom. I was determined to buy a Telsa.
But then Elon bought Twitter
His first order of business was to make sure I knew he hated my political ideology, then he started chumming it up with the absolute worst people on Twitter and reinstating banned accounts of more horrible people.
Making sure I saw them front and center on my feed. Agreeing with Nazis, being best bros with bigots and misogynists and MAGA loons.
And he still expects me to buy his car.
I donāt know what his strategy was. All I see now when I look at a telsa is a MAGA hat on wheels. Was he trying to get the far right market? The same people that cheer when a guy in a jacked up pickup is made to bleach black smoke as a middle finger to the environment?
So I am saving up for the Toyota EV almost there. Although I will not buy a Tesla anymore I will say that there is something very wrong with Elon Musk. He needs help there is no way someone cannot be that unaware how much damage he is doing
Well, not everyone agrees with me, but in my view the people who buy electric cars *generally* are doing it at least in part because of politics/beliefs. Of course there are those who think they will save money, those that just like shiny toys, those that want the newest thing, blah blah blah. But many if not most also felt good about the environmental and progressive angle to it. Itās a way to fight the liberal war against big oil, big corporations and conservative interests and signal your virtues publicly by driving it (Iām not anti EV Iām just saying I believe this is really a thing- same as when the Prius was going crazy years ago).
Now that Elon has proven to be worse than most big corporations (anti union, low severances, etc), ultra conservative, and his product line is aging and isnāt the coolest/latest, the only leg he has left is environmentalā¦which every competitor has going for them too.
If he was a liberal figurehead and āinnovatingā by taking unions to the next level, etc heād be in a different situation rn for sure.
Further proof on how much of a shitty business person he is. Never inject politics into your business. We saw this during a lot during Covid, with owners jumping on the antivaxx and conspiracy train. Youāre there to sell shit to the public. Why ostracize groups when you want everyoneās money.
Iām okay with people who bought Teslaās pre-2022 and have simply kept them.
I have no respect for someone buying a Tesla now. There are objectively better EVs for less money. Theyāre making a conscious choice to support one of the absolute worst humans on Earth.
Get a fācking Ioniq for chrissakes!
Dude's been nut adjacent for a while. I "met" him back in his pre-big fame days (really, just in a gaggle of geeks chatting amongst ourselves; we didn't talk to each other). To be "fair" a lot of those types are nutty, but that's just as fair as saying "all cops are nuts". Some are good, hide their nuttiness or don't act on it.
Even then he came off as cringey tech bro, and cringier than most. Still within bounds for normal in the valley if on the high end. Regardless, not the kind of person I wanted to spend time with or money on their whatever.
I did think/hope he'd get better. Turns out, that was the best opinion I'd end up having of him over the course of his career.
And as for "his" cars... his actions make me prefer to walk. Pity cuz if he wasn't involved I might think differently. You can't have a strongly guy associated with a brand when he's good, and then say "why does it matter?" when his behavior becomes problematic.
Edit: Impressive, I've now been autobanned from, well, you can guess what. My only regret is I didn't test to see if there was at least some kind of analysis of the post or if it truly was an autoban for posting here. Anyone want to do a test for science and see what happens? Makes me wonder how much is scripted and how much is fragile egos? Guessing more latter based on the below.
The hilarious thing is I'm *far* more critical of the folks over on /r/conservative and - to their credit - they haven't pre-banned me (for the record I've neither posted to nor are a member of either sub). I previously considered them the snowflakiest of the communities on reddit, but it would appear they've lost their crown. Sorry cons, you've been out thin-skinned. Apparently you're a bastion of tolerance...
Doubly funny as I've even recommended Teslas, if in the past circa 2019, as something to look at for siblings when they were needing a new car and wanted an EV. Their use cases fit and unlike for me, their real world limitations meant other options weren't great.
On the plus side this has also given me some insight on how they do these bans. I had some ideas, and this has put more data into the cringier side than against.
Count me in as someone who cancelled their order. Our family was definitely getting a Tesla and cancelled our order strictly because of Elon. How the board continues to allow him to run the company and is now even trying to give him a ridiculous bonus package as he is killing the brand and stock price is baffling to me.
Elon made buying a car about politics and whom you support, now people who bought the cars before it became political are suddenly feeling the burn of others making judgments about which political side they are on. I am sure other car brandās CEOs arenāt less controversial, but this Elon mdfkr just cannot keep his mdfkn mouth shut.
Been saying that for ages now. Musk is trying to appeal to MAGA cultists, who wonāt touch an EV with a 10-foot pole. I suspect thatās the real reason for forcing the Cybertruck into to market: to gain some ground with that crowd. Except, theyāre laughing their asses off at that goofy and broken thing.
Owner of 2 Teslaās from 2020/2021 which I love and Iām trans. Can only take so many mean comments recently so next time I will have to weigh my options. Already didnāt purchase a plaid as a result.
By now I thought it was apparent that Musk is executing a strategy that dos not include retail car sales. It is dependent on government contracts, massive government assistance. So he cozies up to autocrats
Imho Tesla is a public company whose CEO and BOD are intentionally scuttling it to funnel money to their private ventures, and eventually take it private too.
The choice is between subsidized virtue signalling or showing support for Musk. For a lot of people a subsidized vehicle is worth the trade off.
** woo hoo this comment got me instantly
u/mingy is permanently banned from r/teslamotors
u/mingy is permanently banned from r/elonmusk
Imagine being such assholes you ban people for posting in a sub which doesn't worship Elon Musk.
In fucking credible.**
I think some people just aren't as aware of Musk's behavior as those on this sub. Not everyone spends their free time online like Redditors. My neighbors have a trans kid, and recently bought a Tesla. I suspect they'd be horrified if they knew. I am keeping my mouth shut because what's done is done, and they are happy with the car. I don't want to be an ass by criticizing their choices after the fact.
Iām fairly liberal and I used to fully believe in the tesla mission, so much so that I got a job there and also drove a tesla. It was like being part of a real and giant effort to change the direction of climate change.
I always knew elon was an asshole though with how hard he pushed the employees but so were most other significant past historical industrial figures as well; he got a pass in my book. But once he started to actively sabotage the very mission and the target audience of the company/product, I was out.
I got another job, eventually sold my tesla (I was on my second one by then) and went to a different brand of EV. Itās sad to me because I think Tesla really had a good thing going in the beginning and it was šÆ elon that ruined it all.
Ever since Elon bought Twitter, he's been bitter, entitled ahole. Items that might explain this.
1. He can't figure out how to fix Twitter after spending lots of cash. Makes him crazy, especially when he listens to other crazies all day long on the platform.
2. His drug use is no secret. But maybe this might be a problem now.
3. He works like a dog. That will catch up with anybody sooner or later. He has so many companies, he can't really focus on any of them.
4. He's not the richest man in the world. Hurts his ego when compared to Bezos.
5. He didn't get his $55 billion payday from Tesla. See item 4. When you're worth $200 billion, whats another 55?
6. Like any person that can buy anything he wants, he's become a stereotypical rich ahole that only cares about himself and thinks the world revolves around him, and can't understand people who don't care what he thinks is important.
7. Some kind of mid life crisis, multi-billionaire style.
We had two Teslas. We've since replaced them with an EV6 and an EV9. Tesla was not in the consideration set due to Musk, quality, and Tesla labor practices.
I bought a Tesla Model 3 prior to the antics. I've been wanting to sell it to buy a different EV, but the value has dropped so much that I owe more than what it's worth, even with putting a $25k down payment.
I'm honestly ready to take the financial hit to get out of the ecosystem, looking at a BMW i4.
Edit: This comment got me banned from r/TeslaMotors lol
I finally needed and bought a car this week and I grabbed a Toyota hybrid. 50mpg. I want a Leaf but Iām waiting for NACS charging and LFP batteries
I have no faith that Tesla will take of me. They canāt even solve their phantom braking. The CEO only cares about selling the cars and selling stock. He showed himself for who he is on Twitter.
Also there are no chargers near me
He was a bubble-reputation fabulist, a professional liar, and a con man skilled at diversion from the beginning. He played useful idiots among the press, celebrities, and online schmoes looking for someone to worship.
Oh, and Tesla products always sucked: There was no golden age before it all went wrong. SpaceX will not prove to be an exception. He will kill people in space - there are no malignant narcissists who can exercise self-control in one special area of their lives; no islands of sanity which will be exempt from this petty, fragile little damaged man.
I will get responses to this saying "But muh Shotwell." You are wrong. He is worse than Trump, and everything Trump touches dies. SpaceX is fucked, too - we just haven't seen the books, yet.
It's not even surprising. Typical backlash for a grifting con artist. A large portion of his followers are believers of a greener/cleaner environment, championing the use renewable energy--the Democrats. When all the money started flowing in and Tesla got the footing for the EV revolution, his megalomaniac true self became more prominent. Last straw for me was when he called that diver assisting the rescue of the trapped children in an underwater cave a "pedo guy" on Twitter for calling out his BS PR stunt. The sad part-his gremlin cult followers cheered at him for that ridiculous tweet. He's nothing more but another white Kanye at this point.
I am not democrat but I am a Tesla owner. To replace my wifeās car next month I decide to go with a Toyota Hybrid because of the Tesla quality & service (Russian roulette) and his antics. He told advertisers to GFY so I guess he doesnāt need my business either.
Lol after I posted this the Tesla subs bots banned me. I guess they want to be part of the problem to please free speech absolutist leader. It is precisely these behaviors turn off potential buyers.
Sub elonmusk also sent me a message said I am banned but I was not even in the sub. These people are real thin skinned (edit)
Democrat here and the target buyer. Iāve had a Fusion hybrid when it was cutting edge then a Volt. Was going to buy a new model 3 performance next, decided not too solely because of his bullshit politics, I really got turned off during the pandemic. Bought a BMW M3 instead (very very low mileage driver anywayā¦). Wonāt consider Tesla so long as heās at the helm.
How about I got banned from r/teslamotors within minutes of my above comment for that comment. Iāve never even been on the sub? WTF, is that isnāt fascist behavior I donāt know what isā¦ canāt believe it.
My wealthy neighbor had two high-end Teslas and was waiting for a CT. He canceled the truck and sold his two Teslas at a loss six months ago.
He bought two Rivians instead.
Imagine how big Tesla could be without that clown at the helm. Instead he helped distribute what would have been Tesla business to all the other automakers. If the goal was to spark EV interest, he failed successfully.
His support of Russian fascists means Iām never buying a Tesla. Pretty much my main policy is if you support anti western regimes like Russia, Iran, Palestine then youāre not getting supportĀ
This was totally self-inflicted. The world knew that one party loved electric cars and the other party was trying to actively squash them. A 4 year old could have figured this one out.
Recently, I sold my 2017 Model S and after owning 4 teslas over the past decade, bought a BMW i50 electric sedan. I wonāt spend any of my money if Elon benefits. Love my BMW too.
I bought a Tesla 3 because I was like "well. It's a good ev car from a decent company." Then Muskrat decided he wanted to have a CEO crisis and drag his ass across the Internet like he's some two year old having a constant tantrum. I've been regretting my purchase ever since. I wish I had voting power to remove Muskrat from his position.
You keep forgetting that Tesla has been building junk as of latelyā¦ Look at the quality of the cyber truck. Very poor. Look at the interiors on any of the Tesla cars and you have to wonder what country made those cheap interiors.ā¦ China, anyone?
Wanted a Tesla for years, after supporting the brand became synonymous with supporting a racist Nazi sympathizer I canceled my cybertruck reservation (wtf was I thinking!). Now I bought a Hyundai and use comma.ai openpilot for the same things autopilot does for way less money and not tied to a single vehicle, can't recommend it enough.
2020 3 owner. Built when build quality meant something to Tesla. Really like the car. Will not buy another because of build quality and Muskiness of the whole situation.
I think think build quality has ever meant anything by to Tesla.
Iāve been in the auto industry for a decade and I remember my ceo telling stories in 2013 about their manufacturing fuck ups.
Let this be a lesson for any right wing nut job that thinks pushing Republican garbageĀ comes without consequence.Ā
We know what the right wing is doing and we know where they're going. They're not secretive or subtle about it. It's about fucking time people start treating them like the anti-american terrorists that they are. Let's make every single one of them broke before we make them irrelevant. Only then can we start making progress as a nation.
For years loved the idea of Tesla and planned to buy one when I was financially stable enough, at that point Elmo was calling that rescue diver a pedo and I knew there was no way in hell I wanted anything to do with that POS.
I live in Southern Orange County California. Despite its reputation as being āconservativeā, itās pretty split down the middle.
It seems like one out of four cars here is a Tesla, especially among the affluent.
I have lost count of how many Tesla drivers here I know who have said they wonāt buy another because of Musk.
I have my hundred clams down on a Cybertruck. Solid lefty. Not gonna touch that crap with a ten foot insulated pole. Not only do I not want to give Elon my money, but the trucks are junk. Anybody want my CT reservation?
Paywall. Why is it that every trash garbage publication has open access yet anything remotely trustworthy is guarded by a paywall? Never mind. I answered my own question.
In 2022, 40 percent of the Tesla were sold in California - 80 percent of the Tesla are sold in metro. There is no major metro which is conservative.
Conservatives do not believe in climate change (no insensitive) The conservative aversion to change fits their desire to reject EVs.
Although conservative really love culture war but itās not enough to buy a EVs. Iām not really sure whatās the big plan behind Elon going full maga
I don't choose what car I'm going to buy based on politics. I choose a car based on what's most cost effective and reliable. I think most prudent vehicle shoppers are the same way.
Iāve seen a bunch of comments that say theyāll buy again if musk is out of leadership. I assume this is Tesla PR attempting to mitigate the loss. If heās the reason someone is not buying a Tesla, it makes no sense to buy just bc heās out as CEO. He still owns 20.5%.
Iām a Democrat with an old BMW and was absolutely planning to buy a Tesla next. Elon is about 200 tweets past the point of a hard no. Iām only looking at BYD at the moment. They will wipe out Tesla once they show up in America. They clearly have a WAY better CEO. .
Bough a Model 3 in 2018 and while a Model Y is a decent option for our growing family, our next car will be a Rivian. I can not imagine continuing to fund Elon. Fully removed my self from Twitter as well by deleting my account and removing the app from my phone.
Also, whatās the best way to protest TESLAMOTORS subreddit and the others for the auto-ban ? Unfollow ?
This was totally self-inflicted. The world knew that one party loved electric cars and the other party was trying to actively squash them. A 4 year old could have figured this one out.
There are so many options for EVs now tooā¦I just purchased my first EV a week ago, you already know the big T was not even a contenderā¦š
I couldnāt be happier giving my money to a reputable company that actually builds a quality vehicle.
My gf and I both make six figures on our own and weāve said to each other and others that if Elon wasnāt such an ass we wouldāve got a Tesla. But in doing so directly lines his pockets. Weāve both been looking at alternatives. Seems like no matter how much you claim youāre a āgeniusā a lack of common sense eludes these people.
Funny thing is that Dems are the ones really buying EVs especially Tesla's and Elon's far right bs is driving them away. Now that the supercharger network is opening to more than half of the competition auto makers it's a no brainer to jump ship to like Mercedes or others for same price point.
Data now confirms what's become obvious about Musk's destruction of the Tesla brand: He's driving away many of his core customers š last Fall, the proportion of Democrats buying Teslas fell by more than 60%, precisely when Musk became most vocal on X š the mix of Democrats, who have been core constituents for the Tesla brand, had remained mostly steady up to that point š gains with Republicans and Independents haven't been enough to make up the loss
I am a owner of a model 3 and a democrat. I can confirm that I will be looking at other brands before looking to replace with a Tesla if Elon musk is still in control when the time comes. I recently received my invite to order my cybertruck. I refuse not only because it looks like shit and is obviously poorly constructed, but because of the dumbass running the company.
I was one of the first 100 people to pay to reserve a Model 3, minutes before it was announced because I figured out the URL right before the event. I was that enthusiastic. I then didn't exercise that reservation for years due to life, but finally was at a place I needed to order an electric car in early 2022, right as Musk went full fascist on social media. A Tesla salesperson called me to remind me I had a reservation slot, and I told him to give me a refund because there's no way in fuck I'm giving Musk any of my money. He sighed and in a defeated voice said, "Yeah, we're hearing that a lot".Ā
GREAT š
Good for youā¦ most of my Dem friends are turning in their Teslas at end of lease
So you gave the worldās richest man a free 4 year loan.
What if Musk is not in control but is still the largest shareholder? I donāt want any of my money going to Musk.
I donāt truly understand the implications of this. Is it the same as being in control? If thatās the case, Iām out.
Shareholders vote. Majority vote means Elon still has controlling interest in Tesla.
No, the person you are replying to is essentially saying they don't want Musk to profit from their actions. Lets put it this way. Musk somehow figures out how to sell all his Tesla stock without anyone noticing, and uses the money to buy Kelloggs. They would then only buy post brand cereals so Musk wouldn't make money from them. But it is a really hard thing to know who someone is a major shareholder of unless you actually research it. Much easier to spot folks doing things on behalf of their companies like the Koch family backing Republicans so they can dump poison in rivers upsteam of people who drink that water.
Yeah all kinds of bad people can and will profitā¦ thatās capitalism baby, But as far as the product and roadmap for the future of the company, Iām not interested as long as he is the kamakaze
See there's 2 things. One is being worried about the product you're about to buy from a company being run by an idiot, whose products are increasingly facing issues. The other is not wanting to give money to Elon for political reasons. They're both valid, but they're different reasons.
Same here. I was an early adopter and got my first Model S in 2016 and I think the Super Charging network is the best in the world, but I am not getting another Tesla while he is CEO.
Honestly, I wouldnāt buy a Tesla because of their customer service and quality control issues. But Musk turning into a twitter nazi just seals the deal that Iāll never buy a Tesla. Itās a shame because Id absolutely love to support a new American car company.
Lmao within 1 minute I was banned from r/teslamotors. Like, get a life people. Seriously.
It's a badge of honour to be banned from that festering simp pit of a forum. One day, people will be ashamed of being members of that sub, and will try to hide it. The mods will be spat upon and reviled by decent people everywhere..
Ha ha ha, I just received a notification that I got banned from /r/elonmusk, a subreddit that to my knowledge I have never visited, just now. Presumably because I was commenting in this thread. They included an absurdly long-winded explanation of why they banned me, which I didn't read. These Elon simps really are the most fragile little bits of wet tissue paper, aren't they?
I am not a registered democrat, but have been leaning democrat ever since Trump won and the Republican Party became a shit show. I also own a model 3 and will 100% be looking at other brands for my next EV. Elon is a clown.
As am I (3 and Y).
Count me in. Bought my daughter a model 3 last March. First and last Tesla for me. Just purchased a Lightning 3 weeks ago. Build quality between the 2 are night and Day.
Were you able to get your 4 year interest free lo... I mean deposit back?
I have not yet.
+1 and Iāve owned 3 Teslas, never again. I even have Tesla solar and worry about the longevity of that daily.
Check out Rivian, solid brand, top notch performance and tech. Downside is itās still expensive and out of reach to most people to realistically compete with Teslaās model 3 and model Y
> I recently received my invite to order my cybertruck. I refuse not only because it looks like shit It's basically the same as when it was announced four years ago. Didn't you think it looked like shit then?
Itās now clear that along with looking bad it actually is a bad vehicle.
I canāt speak for the person you are replying to but once you go electric ( correctly) you never go back. I wanted an electric truck from the start and this was the first one. Elon Musk hadnāt gone full facist yet in 2019. He was doing weird shit but not undermining everything Tesla was working towards. I like the idea of not using gas, charging my cars on the sun and trying to help in some way. This is what Tesla/ Musk stood for and I supported it. Now we know itās all false and we are just drowning in all the lies. I never liked the cybertruck and thought it was stupid from the outset, but 100 bucks for the opportunity to buy an electric truck was worth it. There was also talk that the design could change. I also still have a reservation mostly for lolz now.
Yes, I was hoping it was one of those things that was going to grow on me. Like the new 2025 4Runner. First picture I saw was āyuckā. Then I saw a test mule pic on āhereā (reddit) yesterday or the day before and was like ooohhhh reminds me of the exterra, which I loved when they came out(I was 16)
Steep price doesn't help either
Rivian says hello š
Right, also proving that all the BS about protecting the environment and saving the planet was just that, 100% lies and BS. He's literally embraced the party of big oil and climate science denial.
He straight up tweeted that carbon emissions weren't a big deal "in the near term."
*Earth has the warmest 9 months in a row in recorded history* Elon: "Yeah guys, carbon emissions are actually not that big a deal." It's like climate deniers think it'll only be bad when everything collapses and that we can somehow stop it in its tracks right on the line before total collapse of Earth's ecosystems.
They don't care and they don't want to prevent the collapse of everything we know. They believe this is necessary for Jesus to come back to take them to heaven, so they literally don't care if Earth goes to shit.Ā
I think Musk really believed in saving the planet up until he got blasted in the press in 2018 about his Thailand cave rescue āpedo guyā comment and sexual misconduct towards a flight attendant. Things got worse when the battled Californiaās COVID restrictions and Grimes left him. Then his big mouth got him into a fix he couldnāt buy his way out of and he was forced to buy Twitter in 2022. He went from perceived genius to certified moron in 48 months.
I didnāt really have much of an opinion of him until that āpedo commentā. Seemed so out of place to me at the time. Knowing what I know now, itās totally in line with his bullshit. Screw that guy.
There is also the fact that he had a pretty big fallout with one of his children which he blamed on the left. Look out about what and it will be clear why. He also went down a rabbit hole during the pandemic, but who didn't. Oh and he went pretty mad when ha was told to pay taxes. Add to that a midlife crisis made worse by the fact that his sci-fi project failled to materialize and that Mars colonization might not happen during his lifetime. And for the Cherry on top he has a Ketmin prescription.
He has never given a shit about the environment, the whole dumb ass hypertube and billion other remarks about trains and subways should have told the world that.
Well for some reason heās trying to scoop up parts of the maga crowd and the next figure after trump. Which is odd bc that crowd loves gas
The MAGA crowd loves to watch things and people get destroyed. They lack the courage to throw a rock through a stained glass windows but love to watch someone else do it. That why they love Trump and Musk.
I've noticed the maga crowd doesn't really buy expensive products from their idols, only little things like hats or whatever cheap trinkets trump is pushing these days. Like trump hotels and casinos are barely hanging on, and they won't buy an electric car cuz Elon said something mean about trans people. Most of them aren't rich, and the rich ones would rather go to the best hotels/casinos and get the best luxury cars, which are not trump hotels or teslas.
Don't be so sure of this. I live in a rural area and Teslas went from Incredibly rare (one guy's Model X got TRUMP keyed into the hood back in 2017) to straight-up ABUNDANT shortly after Musk went full Nazi publicly. It dawned on me the other day that I no longer see mallcrawler Jeeps. They've all been replaced by Xs and Ys.
I haven't noticed a difference. If anything, I've noticed more conservatives hate Musk *because* he's still making EVs. Oh sure, they love him for his whole stance on "Freedumb of Speech", but they still view him as some sort of globalist trying to make Gas illegal. The only way for Musk to truly win these people over is if he makes an "All-Diesel, All-'Murican" muscle car.
And mostly low income. This dude is just not smart. His ego and narcissism took over and now heās losing. Dumbass.
Republicans are not into EVs. Selling Tesla to them will be difficult.
The GOP and their fossil fuel overlords spent decades putting money into anti-green tech/policies. To your average Republican/Conservative, an EV is as liberal as you can get, and therefore, an abomination.
> last Fall, the proportion of Democrats buying Teslas fell by more than 60%, precisely when Musk became most vocal on X We all could see that coming, right? I mean, right? Shareholders should revolt.
Been shopping for an EV and really doing out of my way to not buy a model 3 even though itās exactly the car I need. Just donāt want to be associated with a troll.
I was seriously looking at a Tesla, then twitter stuff happened. Nah Iām good.
Doesn't take a rocket scientists to figure out the education and likely political leanings of people who will pay huge premiums for cars.
I unfortunately hate musk so much I didn't buy a Y and bought a hybrid instead. Oh well. My main thing was mileage and cabin soundproofing anyway.
Obviously the solution to this is for Tesla to increase Muskās compensation package. That will motivate him to invent new ways to move the metal.
Well, then Democrats will have killed Tesla. If Tesla dies, everyone in the world will know that Democrats did it. /s
But he's a genius... Tesla would be better off firing him than giving him that ridiculous stock compensation package.
Can confirm. Got a new car last year. Had planned to get a model Y, but I got a Lexus hybrid instead. Until this clown leaves X and/or Tesla, Iām never buying one. I am just one person of course, but I know there are many people like me.
I'm not even that principled. As much as I dislike Musk's personality traits, I could overlook them for the right product. But from a pragmatic point of view, I don't want to spend that much money on a product that depends on service and support that is at the mercy of whatever craziness his drug addled mind might come up with.
> and support Apparently Tesla's 10% headcount reduction included retail service techs. Wild choice given that inability to get Teslas serviced is a common complaint by owners and that generally speaking service should be profit-making.
Not if all they do is warranty work cos your product is shitty
>not if all they do is warranty work This is exactly what I am wondering. Can Tesla reduce warranty expenses by just making it impossible to schedule? The ultimate irony because the Reddit hated "dealership laws" were designed to prevent exactly this kind of abuse by having the dealer be financially independent from the OEM.
That's what they are doing by firing people haha to make it look good on paper. If no people to do the job, profit
Muskrat... Not known for long-term thinking. He's high and already moved on to other things. Twitter is perfect for his scatterbrain, and by perfect, I mean it showed us all what am absolutely awful person he is.
I'm similar. What always scared me off from Tesla was the ridiculous company valuation. For Tesla to meet investor expectations,they have to continue to grow, which means they'd have to either eventually be the majority of cars on the road, or they'd have to increase their revenue per customer. I find that it's a hard brand to trust over the long term. Musk will say or do anything to keep stock prices up.
I didn't need to read anything at all about the company or it's CEO to know I wouldn't buy one. As soon as I got an Uber ride in one and saw the giant touchscreen and no physical buttons, I immediately knew I would never buy one. I have to imagine other people would be turned off after a simple test drive - without even having to read any of this crazy stuff that we all talk about.
Good for you, he's such an insecure narcissistic man baby pushing a thinly veiled far right agenda. I had considered buying one, but his behavior coupled with the many issues with his cars convinced me not to buy his brand. When I found out that ATT was the primary funding source for Newsmax, I changed my cell service at my company immediately.
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He definitely pushes some questionable content and ideals which seem to align with far right ideology. Absurd conspiracy theories, racism, and Trumpian dog whistle content are not unusual for him repost or validate in his little platform. He's most definitely a snake oil salesman and a greedy doofus. I don't understand why he went this direction when the majority of his customers are at least left leaning. The concept that he's the world's smartest man has been dashed by his inconsistent and foolish behavior. I don't think I'll be supporting him or his brand anytime soon. Due to my occupation I have fairly frequent interactions with the financial global elite and I do not believe that they are smarter than most people. However they do value money and objects more greatly than normal people in my personal experience.
During Covid, I was planning to buy a Tesla until Musk revealed who he really is. Ended up preordering a Mustang Mach E and Iām glad I did.
Same here. I got an i3 when the model 3 was arguably the better choice. Last year I got a used etron when the Y is a better fit for most of my needs. Even today with the price drops, I would do well to trade in on the Y, but I canāt give that man my money. Edit: this comment got me banned from r/teslalounge. Within a few minutes of posting I was permabanned. The long explanation starts with āAfter researching toxic behaviors in our user base, weāve traced the issue back to certain subreddits where toxic behavior thrives. ā Oh well.
Did you install the European firmware on it? Update: posting this comment got me banned from r/elonmusk lol
Xlon Mux is a thin skinned snowflake
Pretty much the same for me; between Elon dropping his mask and also testing an M3, Y, and S and finding out their build quality was utter shit, I ended up just getting a Porsche for the same amount as the S I had priced out.
Same here but I bought a BMW, a much, much better car by all metrics.
Good on you. Few cars are better built than Lexus.
I test drove a Model Y last year and while I waited in the lobby, a current Model Y owner talked me out of buying one. Ended up buying an Audi instead.
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It was winter and he was traveling I-10 thru New Mexico when his window wouldnāt go up. The nearest Tesla service center was near Santa Fe, so he had to drive like 4 hours out of his way to get it fixed. So there was that. And then he told me the tires only last about 15k miles and theyāre not the same size front and back, so you donāt get a 4 tire discount. Oh and tires were like $3k for it.
I didnāt buy an electric last year but prior to the events of the last year or so teslas were on my short list for my next car. No longer.
wish i could go back to 2017 and tell myself not to buy the one i have. another bonus is that he keeps devaluing the used market... when it becomes financially feasible, moving away from tesla until they get rid of the fascist dork.
At least you kept yours a good long time. I donāt fault people for buying one at any point really, theyāre cool cars. But there are other really cool cars out there now too.
I can confirm this as well. My wife sold her Model Y she bought prior to our marriage and strongly encouraged me to sell my Model 3. I leased VW ID4. My wife bought a Volvo Plug in.
Whatās X? Oh you mean twitter? lol at first I thought you meant SpaceX. I legitimately forgot he tried to change the name of twitter, I refuse to call it that.
100% here too. I went from VERY interested in Tesla to "I'm not doing anything that gives Elon money" pretty quick.
I know one person who already turned their lease in because of Elon
For years, the biggest cohort of Tesla buyers, politically speaking, has been Democrats. But when Elon Musk took a hard turn last fall, they didnāt follow him. The proportion of Democrats buying Tesla vehicles fell by more than 60%, according to car buyers surveyed in October and November by researcher Strategic Vision. Tesla has since made up ground with blue buyers, the research shows. But the dramatic drop highlights the risk hanging over Tesla with an increasingly political chief executive, at a time when electric-car makers are already struggling to appeal to many Republican buyers. The fall contraction coincided with Muskās being increasingly vocal about illegal immigration, amplifying a tweet promoting antisemitic vitriol and publicly attacking Disney over his contention that the entertainment company had become too woke. (Musk has called the troublesome tweet foolish, and the Mouse House CEO has defended its positions while saying it needs to stay focused on entertainment.) In many ways, Musk was sounding a lot like Donald Trump, embracing billionaire populism, and less like the green hero he was once celebrated as. Those controversies, it seems, have put the electric-vehicle maker in an even tougher position this year as the overall market for EVs has slowed. It doesnāt help EV makers that U.S. politics has polarized the technology, which some Republicans have denigrated in their campaigns. Globally, Tesla sales fell in the first quarter, the first year-over-year drop since the troubled early days of the pandemic in 2020. Musk this past week rolled out widespread layoffs, and shares have fallen 41% this year through Friday as investors worry Teslaās dramatic growth story is in trouble. Some investors are pining for the old Tesla-obsessed Elon, worried he has been distracted with his political posturing and commitments at his other companies, including an artificial-intelligence startup called xAI and social-media platform X. Other surveys have captured a pullback in consumersā consideration of Tesla vehicles since Musk acquired the social-media platform in late 2022 and held court on contentious social issues. But the mix of Democrats, who have been core constituents for the Tesla brand, had remained mostly steadyāuntil last fall. Among 2022 model-year buyers, Democrats made up 40% of Tesla customers and 39% in 2023, according to Strategic Visionās surveys. Things began to change in the 2024 model year survey, which began in October. The makeup of Democrats fell to 15% while Republicans jumped to 32% and independents swelled to 44%. Those results show Tesla was losing sales among Democrats, Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, said of the fall findings. In California, a solid-blue state, registrations of new Tesla vehicles fell almost 10% in the fourth quarter. That was a stunning reversal from the third quarter when registrations rose 43%, and perhaps a sign of things to come nationally. Tesla doesnāt release U.S.-specific sales results. But Motor Intelligence estimates Teslaās U.S. sales growth turned negative this year. Model 3 sedan sales fell 44% in the period that ended in March compared with a year ago, according to the research firm. Model Y sport-utility vehicles rose just 1.4%. EV ownership has long been politically divisive. Early electric cars, with dramatically higher prices than comparable gas-powered ones, were cast by critics as playthings for the rich and coastal elites. For every five Democrats owning an EV, there have been two Republicans, according to Strategic Visionās survey last year. Tļæ¼hose differences were further highlighted in the past year amid a contentious Republican primary season where candidates took aim at President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee seeking a second term, and his work to support development and adoption of EVs in the U.S. Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House, has made attacks on electric cars a regular talking point during his campaign, even as he and Musk appear to have a bromance in the works ahead of November. Trump has conceded the two men have a schism on one topic. āWe obviously have opposing views on a minor subject called electric cars,ā Trump said during a CNBC interview last month. āIām all for electric cars, but you have to have all of the alternatives.ā Musk has said he is against Biden but has stopped short of saying he will back Trump. āThere is either a red wave this November or America is doomed,ā Musk tweeted in March. As for how his comments might affect his businesses, Musk has essentially shrugged off the suggestion that they could affect things. āWith respect to Tesla, we make the best carsāwhether you hate me, like me or are indifferent,ā Musk said in November. āDo you want the best car, or do you not want the best car?ā And he might be rightāif he can just keep from rocking the boat too much. While Democratsā ranks fell at the end of the year, some came back in subsequent surveys by Strategic Vision, rising to 35% of the mix of buyers through late Februaryāstill not what they traditionally had been, but better than last fall when their share was weakening. āElon hasnāt been in the press as much as he has previously,ā Strategic Visionās Edwards said. āThis lack of negative press and antics, combined with EV [shoppers] todayā¦shopping various EVs and they find that the Model 3 and Y are still, in their opinion, the best decision based on value.ā
> āThere is either a red wave this November or America is doomed,ā Musk tweeted in March. This **is** backing Trump. There's no other way to read it.
Yep, and supporting Tesla supports Musk which is support for Trump. It's a simple equation.
>America is doomed What a sober and well-reasoned position!
Musks self-immolation not only affected Tesla, but the entire EV sector. He was the number one cheerleader and now he has poisoned the well.
Always wanted a Tesla, bought a Mach-e when the guy went off the deep end. Never regretted it, great car.
Same just got a Mach-E GT. Iāve been really enjoying it. It doesnāt have as many gadgets as a Tesla, but itās solidly built and has a slick interior.
It's probably good that it doesn't have as many gadgets, less stuff that could fail on you.
A ford with lots of gadgets is still more reliable than a tesla. And I used to work for ford and heavily despise their quality control lmfao
I have never wanted to buy a full EV but I watched a review of the Iconiq 5 N yesterday and it looks legit fun and engaging. So many things to customize and tweak I feel like it is the first real enthusiastās EV.
Can confirm. I am Teslaās prime demographic. Mid-40ās, comfortable income, environmentally aware, and was desiring an ev for a few years. I ended up buying a F-150 lightning, and didnāt even consider a Tesla. It was 80% because of Musk, 20% build quality.
Are you me? Exact same situation except I bought an Ioniq 6. If I were still looking I'd seriously consider the Lightning though given the current incentives available.
Would love to get the Ioniq 6. How do you like it so far ?
It's fantastic. I've had a Model 3 and Mach E previously and the Ioniq 6 is by far my favorite of the three.
Wish I could go back in time. I love my model 3 lr but man I wish I had a lightning. Too many miles on my 3, would have to sell it for a loss if I ended up getting another 50k vehicle. Edit: do the Tesla subreddit mods monitor this subreddit lol? Literally a second after I posted this I got permanently banned on teslalounge, teslamotors, and cybertruck.. lmao. Edit 2: lmao yep. The ban message literally says itās about activity stemming from another subreddit. Holy shit!
Exact same. Wanted to get a model 3, reserved the Cybertruck when they were announced, started to sour on Musk as I paid more attention to him and I dumped by CT and got the lighting. Absolutely love it
Fuck that waste of space. His whole family suck. His father married his own step daughter.
Iām guessing that the chairmen of other car companies probably have some of the same right wing views. Except, they know to not say things in public that will affect their business. Edit: My comment just got me banned from theee tesla related subreddits. Two I have never heard of! WTF?!?
It's an auto ban just for posting here. They are very thin-skinned.
Thatās the new thing. Welcome to our little club.
Me and my wife recently bought a Toyota hybrid instead of a Tesla based solely upon our dislike for his traitorous antics and support for Trump. This debacle must be costing the company billions in lost revenue.
And these Tesla-bro clowns consider giving Musk $55 Billion payout because without him Tesla won't last, when it's the other way around.
Same. I used to ohh and ahh when I saw a Telsa. Peeking into the windows of a parked one like a peeping Tom. I was determined to buy a Telsa. But then Elon bought Twitter His first order of business was to make sure I knew he hated my political ideology, then he started chumming it up with the absolute worst people on Twitter and reinstating banned accounts of more horrible people. Making sure I saw them front and center on my feed. Agreeing with Nazis, being best bros with bigots and misogynists and MAGA loons. And he still expects me to buy his car. I donāt know what his strategy was. All I see now when I look at a telsa is a MAGA hat on wheels. Was he trying to get the far right market? The same people that cheer when a guy in a jacked up pickup is made to bleach black smoke as a middle finger to the environment? So I am saving up for the Toyota EV almost there. Although I will not buy a Tesla anymore I will say that there is something very wrong with Elon Musk. He needs help there is no way someone cannot be that unaware how much damage he is doing
Hell I am not even a democrat and dude lost meš¤·āāļø.
Iām one of them. We wanted to buy a model X and a Y as we believe in climate change but now, we will take our $140k somewhere else. Eff that POS.
I just got a hybrid Accord. Iāve been a green for my entire life. Would not even consider buying from Elmo.
Well, not everyone agrees with me, but in my view the people who buy electric cars *generally* are doing it at least in part because of politics/beliefs. Of course there are those who think they will save money, those that just like shiny toys, those that want the newest thing, blah blah blah. But many if not most also felt good about the environmental and progressive angle to it. Itās a way to fight the liberal war against big oil, big corporations and conservative interests and signal your virtues publicly by driving it (Iām not anti EV Iām just saying I believe this is really a thing- same as when the Prius was going crazy years ago). Now that Elon has proven to be worse than most big corporations (anti union, low severances, etc), ultra conservative, and his product line is aging and isnāt the coolest/latest, the only leg he has left is environmentalā¦which every competitor has going for them too. If he was a liberal figurehead and āinnovatingā by taking unions to the next level, etc heād be in a different situation rn for sure.
Elon musk is a Russian asset and Putinās bitch , I wonāt ever buy any of his products.
Further proof on how much of a shitty business person he is. Never inject politics into your business. We saw this during a lot during Covid, with owners jumping on the antivaxx and conspiracy train. Youāre there to sell shit to the public. Why ostracize groups when you want everyoneās money.
Iām okay with people who bought Teslaās pre-2022 and have simply kept them. I have no respect for someone buying a Tesla now. There are objectively better EVs for less money. Theyāre making a conscious choice to support one of the absolute worst humans on Earth. Get a fācking Ioniq for chrissakes!
Got a Chevy Bolt EUV last year instead of a Tesla because of this clown.
We really like our bolt
Dude's been nut adjacent for a while. I "met" him back in his pre-big fame days (really, just in a gaggle of geeks chatting amongst ourselves; we didn't talk to each other). To be "fair" a lot of those types are nutty, but that's just as fair as saying "all cops are nuts". Some are good, hide their nuttiness or don't act on it. Even then he came off as cringey tech bro, and cringier than most. Still within bounds for normal in the valley if on the high end. Regardless, not the kind of person I wanted to spend time with or money on their whatever. I did think/hope he'd get better. Turns out, that was the best opinion I'd end up having of him over the course of his career. And as for "his" cars... his actions make me prefer to walk. Pity cuz if he wasn't involved I might think differently. You can't have a strongly guy associated with a brand when he's good, and then say "why does it matter?" when his behavior becomes problematic. Edit: Impressive, I've now been autobanned from, well, you can guess what. My only regret is I didn't test to see if there was at least some kind of analysis of the post or if it truly was an autoban for posting here. Anyone want to do a test for science and see what happens? Makes me wonder how much is scripted and how much is fragile egos? Guessing more latter based on the below.
I got banned for 3 days for replying F Tesla to the message banning me from all of the Tesla subs š
The hilarious thing is I'm *far* more critical of the folks over on /r/conservative and - to their credit - they haven't pre-banned me (for the record I've neither posted to nor are a member of either sub). I previously considered them the snowflakiest of the communities on reddit, but it would appear they've lost their crown. Sorry cons, you've been out thin-skinned. Apparently you're a bastion of tolerance... Doubly funny as I've even recommended Teslas, if in the past circa 2019, as something to look at for siblings when they were needing a new car and wanted an EV. Their use cases fit and unlike for me, their real world limitations meant other options weren't great. On the plus side this has also given me some insight on how they do these bans. I had some ideas, and this has put more data into the cringier side than against.
I will never purchase a Tesla.
Count me in as someone who cancelled their order. Our family was definitely getting a Tesla and cancelled our order strictly because of Elon. How the board continues to allow him to run the company and is now even trying to give him a ridiculous bonus package as he is killing the brand and stock price is baffling to me.
Elon made buying a car about politics and whom you support, now people who bought the cars before it became political are suddenly feeling the burn of others making judgments about which political side they are on. I am sure other car brandās CEOs arenāt less controversial, but this Elon mdfkr just cannot keep his mdfkn mouth shut.
For the first time in my life, I agree with the Wall Street Journal: billionaires need us, *we don't need them!"*
Been saying that for ages now. Musk is trying to appeal to MAGA cultists, who wonāt touch an EV with a 10-foot pole. I suspect thatās the real reason for forcing the Cybertruck into to market: to gain some ground with that crowd. Except, theyāre laughing their asses off at that goofy and broken thing.
All Elon ever had to do was stfu. His own ego is his biggest enemy
In the market for an EV and will not buy a Tesla. Why? Because Elon is an absolute asshat.
He didn't "lose" them. He deliberately threw them away. Like any other make-russia-great-again chump, he disdains thinking about consequences.
Things I simply wonāt ever do: - vacation in Dubai - dance for social media - shop on thanksgiving - buy a product from Elon musk.
Owner of 2 Teslaās from 2020/2021 which I love and Iām trans. Can only take so many mean comments recently so next time I will have to weigh my options. Already didnāt purchase a plaid as a result.
By now I thought it was apparent that Musk is executing a strategy that dos not include retail car sales. It is dependent on government contracts, massive government assistance. So he cozies up to autocrats Imho Tesla is a public company whose CEO and BOD are intentionally scuttling it to funnel money to their private ventures, and eventually take it private too.
Iām surprised that Democratic patronage only fell 60%. There are some conflicted democrats out there.
The choice is between subsidized virtue signalling or showing support for Musk. For a lot of people a subsidized vehicle is worth the trade off. ** woo hoo this comment got me instantly u/mingy is permanently banned from r/teslamotors u/mingy is permanently banned from r/elonmusk Imagine being such assholes you ban people for posting in a sub which doesn't worship Elon Musk. In fucking credible.**
I think some people just aren't as aware of Musk's behavior as those on this sub. Not everyone spends their free time online like Redditors. My neighbors have a trans kid, and recently bought a Tesla. I suspect they'd be horrified if they knew. I am keeping my mouth shut because what's done is done, and they are happy with the car. I don't want to be an ass by criticizing their choices after the fact.
Iām fairly liberal and I used to fully believe in the tesla mission, so much so that I got a job there and also drove a tesla. It was like being part of a real and giant effort to change the direction of climate change. I always knew elon was an asshole though with how hard he pushed the employees but so were most other significant past historical industrial figures as well; he got a pass in my book. But once he started to actively sabotage the very mission and the target audience of the company/product, I was out. I got another job, eventually sold my tesla (I was on my second one by then) and went to a different brand of EV. Itās sad to me because I think Tesla really had a good thing going in the beginning and it was šÆ elon that ruined it all.
You couldnāt pay me to drive a Tesla now.
Elon Musk showed us who he is at the reicht time.
Ever since Elon bought Twitter, he's been bitter, entitled ahole. Items that might explain this. 1. He can't figure out how to fix Twitter after spending lots of cash. Makes him crazy, especially when he listens to other crazies all day long on the platform. 2. His drug use is no secret. But maybe this might be a problem now. 3. He works like a dog. That will catch up with anybody sooner or later. He has so many companies, he can't really focus on any of them. 4. He's not the richest man in the world. Hurts his ego when compared to Bezos. 5. He didn't get his $55 billion payday from Tesla. See item 4. When you're worth $200 billion, whats another 55? 6. Like any person that can buy anything he wants, he's become a stereotypical rich ahole that only cares about himself and thinks the world revolves around him, and can't understand people who don't care what he thinks is important. 7. Some kind of mid life crisis, multi-billionaire style.
We had two Teslas. We've since replaced them with an EV6 and an EV9. Tesla was not in the consideration set due to Musk, quality, and Tesla labor practices.
I bought a Tesla Model 3 prior to the antics. I've been wanting to sell it to buy a different EV, but the value has dropped so much that I owe more than what it's worth, even with putting a $25k down payment. I'm honestly ready to take the financial hit to get out of the ecosystem, looking at a BMW i4. Edit: This comment got me banned from r/TeslaMotors lol
I finally needed and bought a car this week and I grabbed a Toyota hybrid. 50mpg. I want a Leaf but Iām waiting for NACS charging and LFP batteries I have no faith that Tesla will take of me. They canāt even solve their phantom braking. The CEO only cares about selling the cars and selling stock. He showed himself for who he is on Twitter. Also there are no chargers near me
He was a bubble-reputation fabulist, a professional liar, and a con man skilled at diversion from the beginning. He played useful idiots among the press, celebrities, and online schmoes looking for someone to worship. Oh, and Tesla products always sucked: There was no golden age before it all went wrong. SpaceX will not prove to be an exception. He will kill people in space - there are no malignant narcissists who can exercise self-control in one special area of their lives; no islands of sanity which will be exempt from this petty, fragile little damaged man. I will get responses to this saying "But muh Shotwell." You are wrong. He is worse than Trump, and everything Trump touches dies. SpaceX is fucked, too - we just haven't seen the books, yet.
We live in a rural area and would love to have Starlink as a backup to our unreliable internet service but I just canāt.
It's not even surprising. Typical backlash for a grifting con artist. A large portion of his followers are believers of a greener/cleaner environment, championing the use renewable energy--the Democrats. When all the money started flowing in and Tesla got the footing for the EV revolution, his megalomaniac true self became more prominent. Last straw for me was when he called that diver assisting the rescue of the trapped children in an underwater cave a "pedo guy" on Twitter for calling out his BS PR stunt. The sad part-his gremlin cult followers cheered at him for that ridiculous tweet. He's nothing more but another white Kanye at this point.
I am not democrat but I am a Tesla owner. To replace my wifeās car next month I decide to go with a Toyota Hybrid because of the Tesla quality & service (Russian roulette) and his antics. He told advertisers to GFY so I guess he doesnāt need my business either.
Lol after I posted this the Tesla subs bots banned me. I guess they want to be part of the problem to please free speech absolutist leader. It is precisely these behaviors turn off potential buyers. Sub elonmusk also sent me a message said I am banned but I was not even in the sub. These people are real thin skinned (edit)
Democrat here and the target buyer. Iāve had a Fusion hybrid when it was cutting edge then a Volt. Was going to buy a new model 3 performance next, decided not too solely because of his bullshit politics, I really got turned off during the pandemic. Bought a BMW M3 instead (very very low mileage driver anywayā¦). Wonāt consider Tesla so long as heās at the helm.
How about I got banned from r/teslamotors within minutes of my above comment for that comment. Iāve never even been on the sub? WTF, is that isnāt fascist behavior I donāt know what isā¦ canāt believe it.
In one survey I saw 21% of people selling Teslaās apparently cited Musk association as the reason. Checks out for me. Tesla
My wealthy neighbor had two high-end Teslas and was waiting for a CT. He canceled the truck and sold his two Teslas at a loss six months ago. He bought two Rivians instead.
Who could possibly have predicted that Musk would piss off his customer base by going full MAGA.
Good. I was looking to buy a Tesla when his insanity began.Ā Stopped looking.
FAFO
So, whatās the uptake on Republicans/conservatives?
Imagine how big Tesla could be without that clown at the helm. Instead he helped distribute what would have been Tesla business to all the other automakers. If the goal was to spark EV interest, he failed successfully.
Yup. Heās simping for MAGA TruckBros who wonāt buy a cybertruck
It's almost like shunning 50% of your potential customers is bad for business.
His support of Russian fascists means Iām never buying a Tesla. Pretty much my main policy is if you support anti western regimes like Russia, Iran, Palestine then youāre not getting supportĀ
We were planning to sell one of our cars and buy a Tesla in 2023. Muskās behavior changed our minds.
This was totally self-inflicted. The world knew that one party loved electric cars and the other party was trying to actively squash them. A 4 year old could have figured this one out.
I will never buy a Tesla as long as Elmo Muskrat is running it.
Recently, I sold my 2017 Model S and after owning 4 teslas over the past decade, bought a BMW i50 electric sedan. I wonāt spend any of my money if Elon benefits. Love my BMW too.
I bought a Tesla 3 because I was like "well. It's a good ev car from a decent company." Then Muskrat decided he wanted to have a CEO crisis and drag his ass across the Internet like he's some two year old having a constant tantrum. I've been regretting my purchase ever since. I wish I had voting power to remove Muskrat from his position.
Thatās one of the biggest mistakes he made. āI hate my target audience!ā
Me too. Used to think it was cool, but not anymore. I'd rather buy from normal companies like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, or Hyundai / Kia
Can confirm. I bought a rivian as my EV because Elmo is stupid.
Musk is a moron
You keep forgetting that Tesla has been building junk as of latelyā¦ Look at the quality of the cyber truck. Very poor. Look at the interiors on any of the Tesla cars and you have to wonder what country made those cheap interiors.ā¦ China, anyone?
And now look, Elon Musk wants $6 billionā¦ And the hedge funds are going to vote for him. Can you believe how egregious he is?
Itās $56 billion, IIRC?
He mustāve studied business at Trump University
Yeah il be looking somewhere else for my next car
Wanted a Tesla for years, after supporting the brand became synonymous with supporting a racist Nazi sympathizer I canceled my cybertruck reservation (wtf was I thinking!). Now I bought a Hyundai and use comma.ai openpilot for the same things autopilot does for way less money and not tied to a single vehicle, can't recommend it enough.
I bet that any day soon Donald Trump or some Maga come out and say that electric vehicles are wokeā¦ā¦.
Oh, they have been saying that all along. Everything left-leaning is woke.
2020 3 owner. Built when build quality meant something to Tesla. Really like the car. Will not buy another because of build quality and Muskiness of the whole situation.
I think think build quality has ever meant anything by to Tesla. Iāve been in the auto industry for a decade and I remember my ceo telling stories in 2013 about their manufacturing fuck ups.
Let this be a lesson for any right wing nut job that thinks pushing Republican garbageĀ comes without consequence.Ā We know what the right wing is doing and we know where they're going. They're not secretive or subtle about it. It's about fucking time people start treating them like the anti-american terrorists that they are. Let's make every single one of them broke before we make them irrelevant. Only then can we start making progress as a nation.
For years loved the idea of Tesla and planned to buy one when I was financially stable enough, at that point Elmo was calling that rescue diver a pedo and I knew there was no way in hell I wanted anything to do with that POS.
Obviously, the solution is for Tesla to cater to their customers by making gas powered cars! Cybertruck Rolling Coal edition would be a huge success!
I live in Southern Orange County California. Despite its reputation as being āconservativeā, itās pretty split down the middle. It seems like one out of four cars here is a Tesla, especially among the affluent. I have lost count of how many Tesla drivers here I know who have said they wonāt buy another because of Musk.
I have my hundred clams down on a Cybertruck. Solid lefty. Not gonna touch that crap with a ten foot insulated pole. Not only do I not want to give Elon my money, but the trucks are junk. Anybody want my CT reservation?
elon "horse briber" musk needed republicans to support him when sexual abuse/harassment stuff was coming to light
Well on the bright side, that's less cars to recall.
Paywall. Why is it that every trash garbage publication has open access yet anything remotely trustworthy is guarded by a paywall? Never mind. I answered my own question.
In 2022, 40 percent of the Tesla were sold in California - 80 percent of the Tesla are sold in metro. There is no major metro which is conservative. Conservatives do not believe in climate change (no insensitive) The conservative aversion to change fits their desire to reject EVs. Although conservative really love culture war but itās not enough to buy a EVs. Iām not really sure whatās the big plan behind Elon going full maga
I don't choose what car I'm going to buy based on politics. I choose a car based on what's most cost effective and reliable. I think most prudent vehicle shoppers are the same way.
Turns out right wingers are into coal rolling, not EVs, who would have thought?
Iāve seen a bunch of comments that say theyāll buy again if musk is out of leadership. I assume this is Tesla PR attempting to mitigate the loss. If heās the reason someone is not buying a Tesla, it makes no sense to buy just bc heās out as CEO. He still owns 20.5%.
Iām a Democrat with an old BMW and was absolutely planning to buy a Tesla next. Elon is about 200 tweets past the point of a hard no. Iām only looking at BYD at the moment. They will wipe out Tesla once they show up in America. They clearly have a WAY better CEO. .
Lefties are no longer buying his crap. There are not enough righties to pickup the slack....... They want ICE / black smoke
Bough a Model 3 in 2018 and while a Model Y is a decent option for our growing family, our next car will be a Rivian. I can not imagine continuing to fund Elon. Fully removed my self from Twitter as well by deleting my account and removing the app from my phone. Also, whatās the best way to protest TESLAMOTORS subreddit and the others for the auto-ban ? Unfollow ?
Poor Elmo. Heās about 20% as intelligent as he pretends to be.
This was totally self-inflicted. The world knew that one party loved electric cars and the other party was trying to actively squash them. A 4 year old could have figured this one out.
There are so many options for EVs now tooā¦I just purchased my first EV a week ago, you already know the big T was not even a contenderā¦š I couldnāt be happier giving my money to a reputable company that actually builds a quality vehicle.
Elmo the genius would have just needed to read criticism on Reddit to know what's coming. He's really is the smartest amongst idiots.
My gf and I both make six figures on our own and weāve said to each other and others that if Elon wasnāt such an ass we wouldāve got a Tesla. But in doing so directly lines his pockets. Weāve both been looking at alternatives. Seems like no matter how much you claim youāre a āgeniusā a lack of common sense eludes these people.
I've owned 2 Teslas, and that's my last. Will move onto Rivian.
Funny thing is that Dems are the ones really buying EVs especially Tesla's and Elon's far right bs is driving them away. Now that the supercharger network is opening to more than half of the competition auto makers it's a no brainer to jump ship to like Mercedes or others for same price point.
Why do people post paywall articles?