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By Hyunjoo Jin and Paul Lienert
(Reuters) – Elon Musk has called for himself and Tesla to break the rules, but the billionaire’s latest comments on politics and a sexual harassment allegation against him that he says are fake could damage the logo in the eyes of some. car owners and employees.
Musk on Thursday denied a Business Insider report that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a plane in 2016, calling the user who made the claim a liar.
The day before, Tesla’s chief executive, amid a questionable effort to buy Twitter Inc, said he would now vote Republican or Democratic and called Democrats a “party of department and hate. “
Tesla also cut off the S index this week.
Musk responded by calling those ratings on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues a “scam” and wondering how the index can simply take down an electric car company while adding oil and fuel producers.
Tesla may simply not be reached for comment.
While Musk has already made headlines, calling a critic a “fart” on Twitter, the most recent controversies raise whether his candor will tarnish his sympathy. And, since Musk is so heavily tied to Tesla, it will hurt the automaker’s sales. , especially in California.
The left-wing state is Tesla’s largest market and accounted for only about 40% of the company’s U. S. retail records. Last year, according to data from Experian. the state, according to the California New Car Dealers Association.
#BoycottTesla was trending on Twitter on Friday and several other people claimed they were canceling their car orders.
“In the past, I admired him for running to create a green company that transforms energy consumption. But sadly he becomes a source of discord like a troll looking for attention and is no longer committed to the quality of his products. I’m going to cancel my Tesla order,” said J Yeh, a Twitter user who describes herself as a lawyer who has lived in several cities, adding that Los Angeles.
“You’ve lost a customer,” said a Twitter user named Ute Bauer from Germany, adding in German: “For everyone reading this, cancel your orders. “
Reuters could not verify whether any tesla orders were canceled.
Many institutional investors can help Musk no matter what, given the company’s strong performance, but that doesn’t mean some are frustrated.
“They’re doing a lot of smart things,” said Taylor Ogan, CEO of Snow Bull Capital, which owns Tesla stock. “It’s just disappointing when it’s tarnished by Elon Musk’s antics. Elon Musk is the most productive thing for Tesla and the worst for Tesla. “
A Tesla employee, who asked not to be named, expressed frustration that Musk’s efforts outside tesla appear to be hurting the automaker’s inventory. “Society wants to do anything to solve the problem,” he said.
On Friday, Tesla’s inventories fell nearly nine percent, causing Tesla’s inventory market price to fall by about $66 billion and putting inventory at its lowest point since last August, with analysts citing the “distraction risks” of the Twitter deal. Musk trusts other people on Thursday that Tesla constantly in his mind.
If the discussion about water coolers in paints focused on the sexual harassment allegation against Musk rather than Tesla products, the end result could simply be “corrosive” to the Tesla brand, said John Smith, a former vice president of the GM organization that led the global product. planning.
Tesla and SpaceX employees may also be “a little shocked and angry” because of Musk’s anti-democratic comments, as staff at tech corporations in California tend to be more liberal, said Jason Stomel, founder of tech skills firm Cadre.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who relies on Musk’s SpaceX to get his astronauts into space, told Reuters on Thursday that Musk had a strong executive team at the spacecraft maker and that the agency’s partnership with the company is “going smoothly. “
And Musk still has a lot of online enthusiasts. Twitter user @JVega103 said he was a Republican, owned a Tesla and had just signed up for Tesla solar panels. “Thank you for everything you do,” the user tweeted.
This has left some industry observers wondering if Musk and Tesla would get rid of those more recent controversies, as they have in the past.
“Is Elon Musk now crazy, or crazy as a fox?He gained the advantage of doubt because he plays chess while the rest of us play checkers,” said Erik Qualman, a professor at Northwestern University. “As Musk himself said on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘What, did you think it would be normal?'”
(Reporting through Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Paul Lienert in Detroit, reporting also through Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas; Noel Randewich in San Francisco, Joey Roulette in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Ben Klayman in Detroit and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing through Peter Henderson and Rosalba O’Brien)