Elon Musk Discussion - Tesla Brand Damage

[3sr+buyer]

i think its hard to talk about "brand damage" without talking about the pulse of america (and the rest of the world)

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/23/tesla-reputation-axios-harris-poll

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/axios-harris-poll-company-reputation-ranking-data-source

 

[Bouba]

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/23/tesla-reputation-axios-harris-poll

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/axios-harris-poll-company-reputation-ranking-data-source

Nvidia is a number one company for reputation ......I bet most people can’t even pronounce Nvidia

 

[KerrySkates]

I thought they were building the model 2 no?

Not likely any time soon. They said on last investor call that they plan to make “lower cost” models using the existing manufacturing lines. Who knows what that means or how they’re even going to come up with new vehicles after laying off the new vehicle division. Maybe there will be some clarity on the next call, but I doubt we’ll get much info until 8/8. And even then that event seems to be about Cybercab more than anything else.

 

[thyname]

I do not plan to purchase another Tesla at this point. When it comes to the vehicles, many of the changes are unwelcome for my preference. Most of these changes that I don’t like come from the direction of the CEO.

People can debate me on what Tesla still does better and try to convince me how terrible my ownership experience will be with another manufacturers EV, but it won’t change my mind. I don’t like the current trajectory of Tesla vehicles. I see a lot of potential in the upcoming vehicles from the competition. I’ve owned ICE vehicles from several brands over the years and have a good idea of the general differences in what they offer. I follow the BEV industry close enough to understand my options.

The public persona of Musk wouldn’t matter to me as much if he wasn’t making decisions that directly affect my current and potential future vehicle ownership experience.

I believe there is a massive amount of talent working for Tesla. I don’t believe Musk understands the value of those people demonstrated by his recent layoff decisions. Layoffs happen, but not like this and not by way of tantrums. His actions demonstrate a lack of understanding for what makes Tesla a standout in the BEV industry. They demonstrate the worst of management skills. They demonstrate an amateur approach to project management.

I could go on, but my point should be clear. I believe Musk’s time as a leader at Tesla has come to an end. If he remains, Tesla is going to continue down a controversial route and may not be able to fully realize their vision for sustainable energy solutions. It’s going to take a few years to recover and develop products that bring customers like me back. I do not believe Tesla can do that with Musk at the helm.

I like your post, although a bit against my thoughts and beliefs. And that’s OK, I think we can all benefit from stepping outside of ours comfort zones boundaries. And get another point of view. Otherwise everything becomes an echo chamber.

My thoughts: if I needed a car today, it would be a Tesla. Hands down for me. Fortunately, I don’t need to make that decision for the next 2-5 years. I just own the Model X for two months or so. Before that the Model Y. I will decide what car to get when that time comes. That’s a long time in my terms. Things shift quickly

 

[3sr+buyer]

Here are some categories of factors that negatively affect Tesla's reputation:

1. General concern about support for customers. The mass layoff of the entire Supercharger group was not a good look to potential customers who see the Superchargers as a Tesla advantage that is important to them (because they want to road trip and not deal with the mess that the CCS charging networks in the US offer). Cutbacks at the service centers (layoffs reducing availability and speed of service, loaner cars -> Uber credits -> nothing while your car is in service) are also a concern for potential customers.
2. Products. Some people may be waiting for the future less expensive model, but it seems to be getting delayed more and more, and may not arrive that soon. Meanwhile, there is increasing competition from other companies. Also, the S3XY vehicles are getting old in design. While Tesla does incremental upgrades like VW did with the old Beetle, and software upgrades bring some improvements to older cars, Tesla needs to avoid letting the lineup get old enough to be stale if it wants to attract more buyers. Some of the incremental changes may not be considered upgrades by some potential customers (e.g. removal of turn signal stalk).
3. Left leaning politics. Some left leaning people do not like some of the political things that Musk has been saying (and doing at Twitter).
4. Right leaning politics. Some right leaning people seem to be taking anti-EV as a culture war front (also anti-solar-energy, another of Tesla's businesses).
5. Business practices. Some people who may otherwise want to consider working at Tesla may not want to work there now, given the way layoffs were decided and implemented. Some people may believe that loss of access to some talent for this reason is not a good indicator for the future.