"Mr Musk and the brand are tightly intertwined, Dr Roy pointed out, and that was a positive for a long time when he was seen as an innovative disrupter who was changing the world for the better.
The problem is that Tesla’s dominant consumer base – and the pool of potential buyers of an electric vehicle – tend to be more liberal-minded, eco-conscious and aspirational.
“All of a sudden, those consumers are in an identity conflict,” Dr Roy said."
https://www.news.com.au/technology/m...65c6814fa38f39
OK - this thread isn't intended about electric vs ICE primarily.
It's long been known that you are what you consume, that is, the image one presents can be affected by what clothes they wear, where they live, what lifestyle pursuits they do etc etc - and what car they drive.
So, Elon's behaviour has taken a turn right, "after he freed the bird," some might say. For whatever reason, he is presenting more conservative now.
Tesla's buyers are being reported as being hostile to his recent behaviour.
Now we are seeing left wing activists torching Teslas. There's not a small amount of cognitive dissonance going on.
What do you think - will Tesla survive? Has, as Elon inferred, it done it's job as disrupter and he doesn't care if it fails? Has he ****ed off his customer base too much to recover?