Tesla boss Elon Musk has thrown his weight behind convicted felon Donald Trump in his bid to win the U.S. election in 102 days. He’s backed the ex-president for re-election and has even pledged funding to his cause in order to get Trump back in the White House. However, the ever-evolving relationship between the two men is doing nothing for Tesla’s reputation, which is plummeting across both sides of the political spectrum.
Both Democrat and Republican voters polled in a new study said their opinion of the EV maker had dropped following Musk’s endorsement of Trump, reports Futurism. Among Democrat voters, favorability has dropped from 39 percent in January to 16 percent in July and among republicans it fell from 36 percent to 23 percent during the same period. As Futurism explains:
Tesla short-seller Mark Spiegel was even harsher in his criticism of the infamous billionaire’s brand, which he said may result in a “terrible” boycott from Democrats if Musk keeps up the increasingly rabid right-wing rhetoric.
“He completely alienated most of his buying base,” Spiegel told Yahoo. “It’s going to kill the business.”
The impact of Musk’s ties to Trump may already be taking hold, as Tesla’s sales are not what they used to be. According to the brand’s latest financial results, sales are down were down 4.8 percent and profit for the three months to the end of June 2024 fell by 45 percent.
What’s more, the report from Yahoo even spoke with current Tesla owners who are so fed up with Musk’s antics that they want out. One Tesla driver said they are considering selling their EV as a result of Musk’s opinions and beliefs, as Yahoo reports:
Longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki told Yahoo Finance that he’s considering selling his vehicle because Musk’s endorsement “doesn’t align with my values.”
“This final stance of Elon has put me in a really difficult moral position,” Gerber said. “I’m driving a Cybertruck and now it’s like a MAGA truck.”
This isn’t the first time that Musk’s backing of Trump, his hatred of transgender people and his worryingly close ties to eugenics have encouraged people to think twice before buying one of his cars. In fact, earlier this month another report found that his “erratic” behavior was already putting buyers off.