Few auto executives are as closely tied to business as Tesla CEO Elon Musk. And perhaps none are more prolific in airing their political views on social media.
But as Mr. Musk’s public image has shifted increasingly to the right, Tesla appears to be paying a price in sales, particularly among liberal and left-leaning customers who are far more likely to buy battery-powered cars than conservatives, according to analysts and many car owners who responded to a questionnaire on The New York Times website asking whether his behavior affected their opinion of Tesla.
His image as a hot-headed, temperamental manager appears to have rubbed off on the cars, raising doubts about their quality and helping explain Tesla’s sales slump. On Tuesday, the company said its global sales in the second quarter fell 4.8% from the same period a year earlier, after dropping 8.5% in the first three months of the year.
“Musk is a lightning rod,” said Ben Rose, president of Battle Road Research, who has a generally positive view of Tesla stock. “There are people who swear by him and people who insult him. There’s no doubt that some of his comments are a turn-off for some. For some, they’re enough to make them buy another brand.”
Tesla and a representative for the company’s board of directors did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of the more than 7,500 respondents to the Times’s questionnaire said they were offended by what they perceived as anti-Semitism on the part of Mr. Musk, which he denies. Some were upset by how Mr. Musk has run Twitter, now called X, since he bought the company in 2022. He has laid off thousands of employees and removed safeguards on content shared on the social media platform. His increasingly cozy relationships with former President Donald J. Trump and other conservative figures were also cited as concerns. A large majority of readers who responded to the questionnaire were critical of Mr. Musk.
“You’re basically driving a giant red MAGA hat,” said Aaron Shepherd, a product designer at Microsoft in Seattle, who said he plans to buy an electric Volkswagen ID.4 instead of a Tesla.
It’s impossible to know what price Tesla has paid for Mr. Musk’s political statements and activities. What is clear is that Tesla, once the world’s leading seller of electric vehicles, has lost market share in many countries for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is the company’s reliance on the Model Y sport utility vehicle and Model 3 sedan, which haven’t been substantially updated in years, for nearly all of its sales. Other companies attract buyers by introducing new or updated vehicles more frequently.
In China, domestic automakers like BYD have gained ground on Tesla by offering more affordable cars with tech features that appeal to Chinese consumers, like rotating screens. In Europe, BMW, Volkswagen and other local brands are doing well by offering more luxurious or less expensive cars than Tesla. And in the United States, Hyundai-Kia, Ford Motor and General Motors have boosted sales by offering a growing selection of models.
Times readers who responded to the online questionnaire said they were turned off by Mr. Musk’s statements and by their experience with Tesla’s cars and service operations — the company sells and services cars directly, rather than through dealers.
“There was a time when I would have given Musk an organ if he needed one,” said Tim Yocum, a software company’s chief technology officer. But Mr. Yocum, who lives in Chicago, said he has had problems with his Tesla Model S and has been dissatisfied with the company’s repair and maintenance services. Mr. Musk’s rightward shift has also upset him.
“Tesla is the only automaker in modern times that has allowed its CEO to shamelessly damage its reputation,” Yocum said. “This car will be the last Tesla I own.”
Such comments help inform surveys that indicate Tesla’s reputation has suffered recently. The company slipped to 63rd place in the 2024 Axios Harris Poll 100 survey, which asked respondents how they felt about corporate brands. In 2021, the company was in eighth place.
Elon Musk has consistently maintained that his public statements and image have no bearing on Tesla’s sales. “We make the best cars,” he said at the Times DealBook Summit in November. “Whether you hate me, love me or don’t care, do you want the best car or not the best car?”
Elon Musk still has a slew of passionate fans. Some have even said that the leader’s public statements wouldn’t influence their decision to buy a Tesla. Many have credited him with pushing the auto industry toward electric vehicles, a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.
“He led a company that successfully disrupted a corrupt and lazy auto industry,” said Julian Mehnle, a computer engineer who lives in San Francisco. While not a fan of Mr. Musk, Mr. Mehnle said, “I’m mature enough to separate those concerns from my choice of consumer products.”
Robert Dean, an architect who lives in Redding, Connecticut, echoed those sentiments: “Musk is a gigantic, disruptive talent who is having a transformative and positive effect on the world we live in. He also has an eccentric personality, but I wouldn’t marry him; I would buy cars from a company he runs brilliantly.”
Most Tesla shareholders remain broadly supportive of Elon Musk. Last month, investors overwhelmingly approved a $45 billion compensation plan for him.
Still, car buyers surveyed by The Times and analysts said Mr. Musk’s political activity has clearly damaged the company’s reputation among left-leaning consumers. And there’s no evidence that Mr. Musk’s rightward shift has drawn more conservatives to Tesla purchases. In fact, 77 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters this year said they were not interested in battery-powered cars, up from 70 percent who said the same last year, according to the Pew Research Center.
“He could win customers who value his positions,” said Greg Silverman, global director of brand economics at Interbrand, a consulting firm that advises clients on marketing strategies. But, he added, the chances that Mr. Musk will attract more customers rather than repel them “are very low.”
According to a study by Interbrand, a CEO or other company representative who offends customers can reduce sales by up to 10 percent, Silverman said.
The concerns of some car owners extend beyond Mr. Musk’s political statements. They cite accusations of racial discrimination at Tesla factories or the perception that he allowed racist content to flourish on X. Tesla has denied tolerating discrimination at its factories.
“My mom was seriously considering buying a Tesla,” said Achidi Ndifang, who works in information technology in Baltimore. “As a black person, I felt like it would be an insult to my mom to drive a Tesla.”
Derek Morf, a high school math teacher from Verona, N.J., who owns a Tesla, said he was alarmed when Tesla removed the Disney Plus app from some dashboard screens late last year, apparently because Mr. Musk was angry with Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive.
Mr. Morf didn’t really care for the Disney app, which he barely used. But, he said, he found it unsettling “that the characteristics of the vehicle I bought could be changed in an instant just because one guy had so much control.”
Such concerns could be a liability for Tesla, which is pouring resources into self-driving technology. Elon Musk has promised to unveil a self-driving taxi on August 8. That technology cannot succeed without consumer trust.
Many Times readers pointed out that other automakers have a track record as well. Volkswagen was hit with an emissions scandal a few years ago. Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor, held and propagated anti-Semitic views. A decade ago, GM sold cars with faulty ignition switches that were blamed for more than 100 deaths.
Traditional car manufacturers still sell gasoline-powered cars that emit greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Tesla only sells electric cars.
But probably no other current auto executive has as powerful a megaphone as Mr. Musk, or is more willing to use it.
“If people think that CEOs of other companies are saints, they are a bit naive in my opinion,” said Jan Leys, a Tesla owner in Zurich. “They just don’t have the same face and/or platform as Elon Musk.”