Do you think Elon is sinking Tesla?

[Sprintey]

"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?

[kypez]

I buy cars that I enjoy and don't really care what image I may be portraying. Never have.

I'll concede that many do and for them, owing a Tesla is a problem at the moment. I'm on the committee of the Tesla Owners Club of Australia and get notes and questions from disgruntled customers about Elon all the time.

But... But...

The people sending me these questions and comments are the early adopters of the brand. They were the people that bought these cars to be green and virtue signal to the world. These people are a minority today. People today don't care about these things and are buying them for the cheapness of ownership and nothing to do with the environment. That they are still one of the best EVs on the market with the best charging network in the country.

Just look at the fact Tesla sold out their launch edition Model Y, albeit the base RWD, and you'll see at least in Australia, people are disconnected from the US politics.

The Tesla stand at the Everything Electric show was packed all day everyday! So many orders placed on the day as well.

So, whilst I think he has hurt a few sales from those who like to virtue signal and subscribe to your definition that what you consume is somehow a reflection of yourself, the majority just want something reliable to get from A to B in the cheapest way possible and continue to buy the cars.

[xisled]

I feel that the main people making the noise seem to be the non EV owners. Basically same crowd protesting about everything else wrong in the world.

A few months ago I drove a Tesla from Melbourne to Sydney and then Sydney to Melbourne within 5 days. I have driven a few EV but the Tesla Model Y I drove is an awesome car and IMO Tesla make the best EV's.

Also the charge network, I had free charging at charge fox, but at some stops it was a 5 car wait. Around the corner from most Charge fox chargers were 10 to 20 Tesla supercharger stations which I used when there was a wait.

Will Tesla take a few hits, yes, will Tesla be around in a year 100% I have no doubt.

[cs123]

Ford is Ford. You don't hear of the CEO of Ford in the media all the time and much less his political leanings.

The CEOs of major companies are the same, save for a few. That way they keep politics out of it.

In short, Elon likes the attention and has attached Tesla to his political affiliations. I think it will impact the company

[T3rminator]

Is he sinking Tesla?

Europe...yes.
Murica.....his mate will bail him out with tax payer's money.
Here....seems like no one cares. but we are a very small market.

The bigger problem for Tesla longer term is competition. Competitors are making big strides in a short amount of time. Once the market consolidates, there is going to be a handful of very powerful brands to compete with.

[Citroënbender]

In that strange world some inhabit, said chap is “winning”. His name is in the headlines, and what was it someone said about publicity?

Reality eventually caught up with Phil Spector; I consider him to have similar personality traits.

[Crazy Dazz]

Tesla was always destined to come back to the pack. Eventually the market will be chockers with EVs, so their initial "dominance" was always going to disappear.
The real question is whether ultimately having X% of the much larger market , is better than having 100% of the initial tiny market.

I catch a lot of Ubers, and EVs are becoming very popular. So I've ridden in a lot of Teslas, and a lot of BYDs. Absolute Chalk and Cheese.
I personally find them a bit gimmicky, but the Teslas are comfortable to ride in, and whisper quiet.
The BYDs smell like a toxic-waste dump, have terrible seats, and sound like an angry sewing-machine.
No exaggeration, our Equinox, with it's rattly TD, is quieter inside than a BYD. I can only guess that the BYD is built without any soundproofing.

[Dr Smith]

I have a simple perspective, if a person is a director of a company and their actions are not solely focussed on the governance, performance, prosperity and growth of that business then they are not fulfilling their duties as a company director....doesn't matter who that director is.

[Wretched]

Let's see the sales figures over the next few months.

[FairmontGS]

Elon isn't sinking Tesla - they were always bound to lose the first-mover advantage once Chy-naaaaa spooled up EV and Hybrid production. There's no way they can remain independent and produce a "premium" offering.

I predict that they'll eventually become Chy-naaa owned and will be a niche premium company.

[Citroënbender]

Nope, they’ll be taken under the umbrella of Stellantis and produce ICE models. The name has the most value - not the fact of them being electric.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Nope, they’ll be taken under the umbrella of Stellantis and produce ICE models. The name has the most value - not the fact of them being electric.

Dear God I hope not. I'd hate to see the name being used for anything other than AC motors given his contributions to humanity. He was a living Saint and literally only cared about the well-being of the masses. Money never played a part in his world.

[Itsme]

I find Elon Musk is a visionary type of person, he succeeds in his goals, I don't think he will sink Tesla, as it is still a successful company. What you are seeing is American politics being played out in uncertain times with an unpredictable president Trump.
Musk & Tesla will survive.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Nope, they’ll be taken under the umbrella of Stellantis and produce ICE models. The name has the most value - not the fact of them being electric.

Could we expect to see a Citroen cyber truck in your drive if that were to happen.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

I have a simple perspective, if a person is a director of a company and their actions are not solely focussed on the governance, performance, prosperity and growth of that business then they are not fulfilling their duties as a company director....doesn't matter who that director is.

Does that also apply to all the other ventures he’s involved in, Twitter etc.

The only reason this is an issue is because he’s on the wrong side of the political spectrum.
If he cucked himself for the dems like he did last decade all the identical MSM talking points would be trying to convince us he is the second incarnation.
Because that isn’t happening those full of joy and kind ness are vandalising private property, intimidating and attacking individuals who have nothing to do with it.

[CyberWasp]

All of the people who are running around and foaming at the mouth about Elon, need to stop and take a step back. Social media has hooked you big time.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Itsme

I don't think he will sink Tesla, as it is still a successful company.

sales down 36% in Europe first quarter. Even in the US they are down 14% first quarter. Nobody can sustain that for long.

Even though our figures are small, they are down 75% in February !!!

[kevino]

Sort of allied to this thread

Channel 9
This Sunday night
An expose on china’s ev industry
Multiple environmental disasters

Smoo I ll pm you and explain how tv works

[Travesty]

Now that we're talking numbers, are all EV's experiencing the same decline in sales?

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by Travesty

Now that we're talking numbers, are all EV's experiencing the same decline in sales?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-...tion/105075394

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

All of the people who are running around and foaming at the mouth about Elon, need to stop and take a step back. Social media has hooked you big time.

Get off social media....and sink another one of his companies

[Bill M]

Tesla, the Govt gig, Twitter and Space X, being spread too thin and showering on a significant portion of the population doesn't equate to sound business practice.
Something has to give...

[kypez]

Originally Posted by simon varley

sales down 36% in Europe first quarter. Even in the US they are down 14% first quarter. Nobody can sustain that for long.



Even though our figures are small, they are down 75% in February !!!

Don't forget almost every brand is down with the current economic state of play.

For Tesla though, they're retooling and ramping their new model Y that is significantly better than the old one. The real test is once production is ramped for them in all markets.

This is the issue when you have only 2 models in your lineup (S and X aren't sold in any meaningful numbers given their price point) and your biggest seller, the Y, is about to get refreshed.

Once you appreciate how big an improvement the Y is, you'll understand why people are waiting and sales tanking.

For all the showboating, he only owns 13% of Tesla. He is a very small part of the equation.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by kypez

Don't forget almost every brand is down with the current economic state of play.

For Tesla though, they're retooling and ramping their new model Y that is significantly better than the old one. The real test is once production is ramped for them in all markets.

This is the issue when you have only 2 models in your lineup (S and X aren't sold in any meaningful numbers given their price point) and your biggest seller, the Y, is about to get refreshed.

Once you appreciate how big an improvement the Y is, you'll understand why people are waiting and sales tanking.

For all the showboating, he only owns 13% of Tesla. He is a very small part of the equation.

Only owns 13%, was the cyber truck his idea? He seems weird enough for it to be, as if it is one of his pet projects.
A smaller, lighter pick up with normal styling and design themes from current models could have made it a sales success.
Seems like a missed opportunity and the Chinese are capitalising on it, on the global market anyway.

[Interceptor]

Meh.... couldnt care less about EV's, but I do find the hypocrisy of the once tesla loving liberals to be hillarious!

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by smoo

Could we expect to see a Citroen cyber truck in your drive if that were to happen.

8x6 tray with ladder racks, loaded range 550km, charge time equal to petrol filling time, ability to disable all unwanted features - I’d happily buy one used at 8-12 years old.

[b0son]

The funny thing is only a couple of years ago, some had proclaimed Tesla's position insurmountable. Not only has it been mounted, it looks like it's getting f#@!ed

[kypez]

Originally Posted by smoo

Only owns 13%, was the cyber truck his idea? He seems weird enough for it to be, as if it is one of his pet projects.

A smaller, lighter pick up with normal styling and design themes from current models could have made it a sales success.

Seems like a missed opportunity and the Chinese are capitalising on it, on the global market anyway.

Playing it safe isn't what gets you attention though. His involvement is considerably overplayed by the company as the hype man. There are people who love the man (it's crazy!!) and will buy anything he says he was involved in without questions.

Ford used the Mustang name on the EV because they knew it would generate a huge amount of interest and polarising views. Some buy it because they think it's a Mustang, some because they like the car and others avoid it because they feel the Mustang name is used in vain. Right now, the Mach E is out selling the ICE models (sure, different car and a family car but people said by using the Mustang name, no one would buy it!).

Similar story with the CyberTruck. I can't think of a single ute that has had such a global response. Everyone, whether you like Teslas or not, knows what a CyberTruck is. And many love it.

At the EV show, the line to sit in it was 20 minutes long and people still waited. Kids love it! They go crazy for the CyberTruck. By comparison, the BYD Shark, you could walk up and sit in it at any point during the show with no wait times (maybe 30 seconds).

If it looked like every other ute, they wouldn't sell as well. Americans have liked big and bold things for a long time. If you remember, Fusion and other global models had very different front grills that could only be classified as "bold" compared to the global Mondeo.

Ford played it safe like you suggested with the F150. The CyberTruck has beaten it though production issues for Tesla has kept the F150 ahead overall. Shows you that you don't have to follow the norm to be at the top.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by b0son

The funny thing is only a couple of years ago, some had proclaimed Tesla's position insurmountable. Not only has it been mounted, it looks like it's getting f#@!ed

They are still ahead of everyone when you break down the tech. I drove the EX90 a couple of days ago and it was, very underwhelming. It did everything I could ask but it was boring. Acceleration was tempered, dynamics were ok.

That's why people are still buying so many Teslas. They are years ahead of anyone else. BYD just don't have the dynamics sorted yet. The BMW offerings are 300-400 kgs heavier and you feel it especially in terms of efficiency. BYD is couple of hundred kilos heavier too.

No one has got the range efficiency, weight benefits, dynamics and charging network that comes close. I really want out of mine but I can't find anything on the market that comes close 7 years later.

After 7 years, I can't find a single car from another brand that is Falcon size, able to go to 100 in under 4.5 seconds, can seat 5 adults plus luggage, have great efficiency, have great dynamics with Air suspension and weighs less than 2025kgs.

[Travesty]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Meh.... couldnt care less about EV's, but I do find the hypocrisy of the once tesla loving liberals to be hillarious!

This is the elephant in the room.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Meh.... couldnt care less about EV's, but I do find the hypocrisy of the once tesla loving liberals to be hillarious!

Originally Posted by Travesty

This is the elephant in the room.

It's only interesting if you have never changed your opinion about something in your life which is sad in itself. This isn't a religion.

Heck, I said I'd never own an EV in my life and would only drive V8's.

It's good to have your beliefs challenged and to change your opinions when presented with new information.