[jmclnx]

I wonder how much Tesla's support of Trump is hurting his sales. Without going public on Trump, would his sales have increased more ?

Right now seems most of his customers may be from people concerned about the environment and/or Climate Change. As time goes on, that will probably change.

There is a reason heads and owners of Companies try and stay out of politics.

[mrguyorama]

Tesla just couldn't win the competition. Sure some people are avoiding Tesla because of Elon, but they only say that because there ARE other options. Those self same people often continue to use Twitter because they just cannot stand the FOMO of not being always online, despite it being Elon's personal echo chamber.

Tesla did well initially because they dared to sell a normal car that happened to use electricity. Other automakers finally gave in and did the same. Why would I buy a car from Tesla, who has known QA issues and commands a weird premium price and hasn't "updated" their vehicles in a decade (though I don't personally get that complaint) when I could buy a Hyundai? Or a VW?

[fastball]

Half of all electric vehicles sold in the US are still Teslas, so I hardly think the competition has caught up.

[SideburnsOfDoom]

> Half of all electric vehicles sold in the US are still Teslas

* 48% And still falling.

https://caredge.com/guides/electric-vehicle-market-share-and...

the competition for EVs is becoming every automaker you have ever heard of (1), as well as some you haven't. Any one of them maintaining high market share is ever harder.

1) With the exception of Toyota.

[fastball]

Yes, as I said, half.

And yes, obviously their marketshare is falling. That is what happens when you create a new market and your competitors play catch up.

Apple's marketshare in the "entirely a screen" smartphone market has been falling ever since they introduced the iPhone. Are they doing poorly? Are people confidently saying things like "Apple just couldn't win the competition"?

[zzbzq]

He already sold his cars to all the silicon valley nerds by pretending to be all about simulation theory and whatever nerd podcasts were talking about for the 2010s. Now he's catered his image to the opposite to sell to people who didn't buy on the first marketing push. Musks public persona has always been a fiction of identarian marketing

[fastball]

I wonder how much of Musk's support for Trump is due to being given the cold shoulder (followed by aggressive prosecution) by the current administration.