Tesla’s brand takes another hit amid Musk controversies

Tesla’s brand value continues to sink – and Elon Musk isn’t helping.
In Australia, YouGov data shows Tesla’s brand value has been in free fall for two years, hitting a new low shortly after Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president.
In the US, separate YouGov data shows Toyota is the top choice among people open to buying an electric vehicle or hybrid car in the next year. Toyota is followed by Honda, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, with Tesla ranking a lowly sixth.
A preference for hybrid cars may be driving these results. Still, it’s striking that the best-known EV maker is so far down the list. How much is down to Musk?
YouGov notes public sentiment towards another Musk company, X, has fallen sharply following the recent UK riots, with almost four times as many Britons having a negative view of Musk as a positive one.
Musk is more likely to be in the news these days for his hard-right ramblings than for anything EV-related. According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk posted on X about 13,000 times in the first seven months of 2024 – some 61 posts a day, compared with just nine in 2019.
In 2019, most of Musk’s posts were about his main business interests (cars or space). In 2024, nearly 60 per cent of his posts were about politics, the media, current events or cultural issues. Indeed, Musk had roughly 230 times as many political exchanges in 2024 compared with 2019, the Journal reports.
As Musk’s public image deteriorates, so too does the appeal of Tesla.