Thank you for your question and this will probably be my last post on the matter, however since you enquired, I shall answer. First of all, I believe a CEO must serve as the brand ambassador, and whilst even the most popular of figures in the public domain will have their detractors, Elon's achievements defied even the loftiest of hopes and expectations. I recall during the introductory unveiling of the Model S concept, and you had analysts from both Goldman and JP Morgan (underwriters no less for the IPO) opining that success for Tesla would be challenging and privately confident that Tesla would not survive. It has, and thrived at that. Tesla and Elon have changed an entire industry. Not unlike Apple, (and with a far greater challenge having no engineering or manufacturing experience in sphere) challenged an entire industry as Apple did with the iPhone and now if an a manufacturer is not accelerating their EV development, the industry experts now question their relevance and going concern (sustainability). That is a breathtaking reversal that was unfathomable by so many experts not long ago.
I had hoped and whilst he will certainly be entitled to take a victory lap or two, that somehow he would grow as a person and recognise that his success was aided by so many brilliant engineers and dedicated layman, and perhaps he would even take a more egalitarian view of his new status.
A brand ambassador does not mean he or she must lack personality. In fact, I believe someone's humanity is good for business and the brand regardless of disposition. Yet there is a vast gulf between personality and toxicity.
Elon has benefited greatly from hyper "liberal" policies, "socialistic" initiatives, and the most basic "crowd funding" movement; The Model S made Tesla possible. And I knew enough about Elon to realise he was never a liberal at heart and that was no concern of mine. However somewhere along the way he selectively forgot what enabled his success. Below is a short list of exceptions that I could no longer tolerate.
California and various other progressive countries gave Tesla the fertile ground (via policies and tax incentives) to succeed. However when their policies no longer suited his agenda, his petulance, distorted view of reality, and vindictiveness was in full view. Moving Tesla from CA to TX, a state where Tesla is not allowed to sell his cars is the epitome of biting the hand that feeds you.
As the brand ambassador, I had hoped he would embrace other manufacturers entering the EV realm as he did early on. And then it would have been fair game to eviscerate them based on engineering and performance. However now, it seems he takes exception that these legacy makers and new entrants enjoy the same government sponsored benefits Tesla enjoyed. His libertarian sensibilities disappear as he routinely gripes about his competitors and still believes that Tesla should be entitled to some undefined non-existent mandated government advantage whilst simultaneously decrying government "overreach".
Those whom have opined that Elon and Tesla should be treated as disparate entities, I could not agree more. Yet Elon makes that impossible since he treats and operates Tesla as an extension of his ego, will, voice, behaviour, and an appendage. Thus the company has come to symbolise him in ways that I can no longer tolerate.
His stance on the pandemic, citing caricatures such as Rogan (a self-described moron) and far flung conspiracies on Covid-19 are unforgivable to me. Taking personal exceptions with mandates is one matter, yet undermining the efforts to deliver society out of this pandemic is entirely another, and then to posit Tesla as the bargaining chip to gain more favourable terms is unconscionable.
His stance on taxes and paying his fair share is something I find unconscionable especially in the wake of such suffering. Paying $10 billion in taxes on nearly a $300 billion dollar fortune is a bargain by any standard. Yet he seems to be confused by the notion that his success is not his alone and this is matter that I can debate endlessly yet I shall leave it as is.
And then of course the cringe worthy confrontations, twitter rows, spats, and unseemly exchanges he engages in are beyond the pale. Aligning his sensibilities with far right elements that not long ago would have done away with him if they could is perplexing at best.
Where is Elon's real courage to take on Goldman and JP Morgan analysts whom in 2019 said that Tesla's intellectual property was worth $7 a share......I suppose taking on Elizabeth Warren and the like is his definition of manhood....right.