Tesla owners have expressed their distaste at Elon Musk's recent actions, including an alleged Nazi salute at President Trump's inauguration, with many claiming they'll never buy another car from the company.
Elon Musk's abrasive actions appear to have had an effect that stretches beyond his own reputation, as customers of one of his biggest companies have been left angered and dissatisfied with their purchases.
Tesla appears to be in a bit of a tough spot amid reports of sales declines and significant drops in value, as the electric car company is suffering due to the reputation of its CEO.
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Musk has become a close ally of President Donald Trump in the last year, supporting him extensively throughout the election campaign and after he emerged victorious last November.
Despite consumer pushback, the process of aligning with Trump has been very lucrative for Musk himself, as his net worth increased exponentially following the election result and Tesla also saw a big market cap increase due to predictions of relaxed regulations that would make the vehicle manufacturer an even stronger player in the industry.
However, things seem to have really reached breaking point for many Tesla owners following Musk's actions at the inauguration on January 20, as the billionaire has been accused of repeatedly using a Nazi salute while on stage.
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Musk himself has seemingly pushed back against these accusations, but the damage already appears to be done for many Tesla owners.
Comments across social media and Reddit show how people's distaste of Musk is affecting their relationship with their Tesla vehicles. Many have claimed that while they feel 'stuck' with their current vehicle, they "won't be buying another Tesla" from now on.
This is due to the loss than many owners would need to stomach if they did desire to sell their Tesla in favor of another EV, but it could spell danger long-term for the company.
One user has even gone as far to argue that Tesla "would be wise to fire Musk at this point," continuing on to state that "they're beyond the visionary stage anyway and Musk is a VERY expensive CEO to keep around. JFC just fire him."
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Another user has chimed in with agreement, pointing out: "It's just a bad look. I'm sure employees are furious. I mean I would be if I was [an] employee there." They also expressed the fears they hold as a Tesla owner, outlining: "I'm worried about if Tesla owners are becoming targets. Everyone be safe and park your Tesla in the garage if you can at night."
Some have offered the other side of the coin, arguing that you should separate Musk's actions from Tesla as a company - especially considering some of the other big names in tech that were also present at the inauguration.
"Jeff Bezos was there. Zuckerberg was there. Tim Cook was there. All donated millions to the inauguration... I loathe Musk and everything he stands for as a person. But Tesla has 140K employees and only one of them is Elon Musk.
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The product is excellent as a result of the hard work of those engineers and innovators who made EVs mainstream, which is a cause I believe in heavily."
It's then up to you as to whether you can feasibly distinguish between Tesla as a car company and Musk's political views, but it's understandable that many are finding the lines too blurred to continue their support.