Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
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What is the Tesla backlash about?
But first, to Elon Musk and the growing backlash against him and his electric vehicle company, Tesla. Since President Trump took office, Musk and his Doge team have been the face of efforts to slash federal spending and cut tens of thousands of federal jobs. In response, Tesla has faced blowback from consumers, some of whom are not happy about the large role Trump gave Musk in the federal government and how his decisions are impacting their lives. Wall Street Journal reporter Becky Peterson covers Musk and Tesla and told us about how consumer sentiment has shifted since Trump's inauguration.
We've seen people increasingly come out and protesting Tesla properties, whether that's showrooms, where there's been a number of peaceful protests across the country.
How have Elon Musk's political ties affected Tesla?
Some Tesla owners have been selling or trading in their vehicles because they no longer want to be affiliated with Musk and his politics. In other incidents, things have escalated.
There have been service centers that have been riddled with bullet holes. There's been some instances of arson at Tesla superchargers and examples of people having their Tesla spray fainted with graffitis, often swastikas or other references to Nazis.
Why are Tesla owners protesting and trading in their cars?
President Trump on Tuesday vowed to label any violence against Tesla dealerships as economic terrorism, and he told reporters any perpetrators will, quote, go through hell. Tesla's also taken some serious hits in the stock market. It's been down every week since Musk went to Washington. Since mid-December, the company has lost more than half its value. That's around $800 billion in market cap. And earlier this week, Tesla's stock experienced its biggest drop in value in a single day since 2020. It rebounded Tuesday, however, after President Trump's comments in support of the company, where he turned the White House driveway into a pop-up Tesla showroom of sorts, lined up several vehicles and made a personal promise to buy one.
What is the impact of Trump's support on Tesla's market performance?
We saw Donald Trump sit in one of the cars and he joked about how he doesn't get to drive very much anymore.
The president also called on Americans to support Tesla and Musk.
Number one, it's a great product, as good as it gets.
There are ethics rules prohibiting employees of the executive branch from promoting or endorsing products on behalf of their friends or their relatives. But The New York Times reports that those rules do not apply to the president. And while it's perhaps not very surprising that Trump is standing by Elon Musk, one of his biggest financial supporters, his support of Tesla in this moment contradicts his administration's goals for EVs more broadly and his own stated opinions on them. Trump has had a lot of harsh things to say about electric vehicles over the years. He's criticized their cost, their mileage, their battery life. He changed his tune last August when Musk endorsed his run for president, saying, quote, But since taking office, Trump has rolled back Biden-era incentives that encouraged EV sales and manufacturing. And just this week, Trump's administration halted much of the federal government's efforts to adopt EVs into its fleet of cars and trucks.
How has the political landscape shifted Tesla's customer base?
Elon Musk has evolved, too, in his politics and in his opinion of Donald Trump. He went from being a one-time Trump critic to now influential advisor. We asked Peterson what were some moments that helped crystallize Musk's political leanings. She said, of course, when he bought Twitter in 2022 and started sharing a lot more of his personal views. But also even further back, the beginning of the pandemic, Peterson says, was a real turning point for him.
A big one was in 2020 when Tesla's only U.S. factory in California had to stop making cars because of coronavirus lockdowns. We saw Elon get really upset about those lockdowns and really turn against the state of California in response. It was soon after that that he moved the company to Texas and he started advocating for different politics.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the Tesla backlash about?
0:34–1:19
2
How have Elon Musk's political ties affected Tesla?
1:19–1:45
3
Why are Tesla owners protesting and trading in their cars?
1:45–2:29
4
What is the impact of Trump's support on Tesla's market performance?
2:29–3:45
5
How has the political landscape shifted Tesla's customer base?
3:45–4:44
6
How is Mexico's president negotiating with Trump?
4:44–6:35
7
What strategies does Claudia Sheinbaum use to work with Trump?
6:35–14:30
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Apple News Today
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