It's not driving away his target market, it's fully changed it. His target market is now MAGA brain-rot Republican weirdos, who also want an EV. It's not a big market.
People with concern for and a desire to do something about Climate Change are the largest demographic buying EVs, and they are a very left-leaning bunch. To say Elon's rhetoric has pushed that market section away is a dramatic understatement.
I mean my wife and I are a perfect example. After moving into our home I had every intention of getting a Tesla for us both and putting in a home charger. I will say we LOVE our Hyundai Ioniq 6 and will be waiting to see what they release next. Tough shit Elon.
I'm a less perfect example. Wanted to buy an EV but Teslas were probably too expensive for me to even consider. I don't know for sure because I literally never even looked at the Tesla options. I love my Chevy Bolt EUV that I plug into a normal 120 V exterior outlet. Fuck off, Elon.
Zero emotional intelligence. What a stupid, stupid man-child. In retrospect, it is utterly unsurprising that he dove in head first on red pill, pro-maga, pro-putin joe rogan toxic meathead idiocy.
Tesla's image is definitely tarnished. It may not be meaningfully affecting their bottom line or forecasts yet, but a bad reputation is hard to fix. As competitors start to step up and current owners look to replace their aging Teslas over the next few years, it's going to make a difference. I've got high hopes for Rivian, personally.
He's driving away current owners. My car is currently at Tesla Collision and I went to grab belongings from it. My little dog took a giant Elon on the lawn and they didn't have a garbage can to dispose of the bag.
I got a Model S Plaid delivered shortly after release. Previously owned a Model 3. It is my favorite / best car I've had and I've gone through ~20. Including a Chevy Bolt and Volt.
But, my next car will not be a Tesla. In fact, I've gone from thinking I'd keep this long-term to finding an alternative. I'm even semi-embarassed to be seen driving it which sucks.
I also had a Cybertruck reservation (yeah yeah, I know). But when our delivery came due we passed.
Rode in a friend's Ioniq the other day and it was pretty solid. Also sat in my other friend's Rivian R1T and liked it well enough.
If Tesla is wondering why sales are declining they need look no further than their leadership. I'd be willing to consider the cars again if Elon was out - but apparently the board is too stupid to do that.
Yep, a Model Y Long Range would make a lot of sense for us as our next car. But it is absolutely not being considered. Not only do we not want to give the company our business, but I'd be too embarrassed to be seen in one...and this is coming from someone with a missing hubcap on their 20yo econobox.
I have coworkers who worked with him in the past, and I can say with 100% certainty that he's always been like this. He's just more open about it now/his PR team isn't keeping it from the public.
The next Tesla will be a diesel version of the Cybertruck, for real men who don’t drive sissy electric cars. And it’ll have a “roll coal” button as standard.
It certainly made me question whether my next car will be another Tesla, likely it won't. They definitely deserve credit for making EVs more marketable and practical, but that technological advantage they had over the competition is gone. So at the end of the day it's just another EV brand but with a tarnished reputation.