From plummeting sales to violent protests, Tesla’s image has taken a hit as Musk’s alignment with Trump and his own controversies continue to grab headlines

Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, but his slide into politics has dragged the brand into uncertainty. For many would-be Tesla buyers, the brand has lost its progressive luster. Musk’s alignment with President Trump and activities within the federal government have led to mass layoffs and the elimination of federal programs via the Department of Government Efficiency.

Tesla’s disappointing first-quarter earnings demonstrate just how much the brand has fallen out of favor. The company reported 336,681 deliveries in the first three months of 2025, down from 495,570 in Q4 2024 and 386,810 in the first quarter of last year. This comes after an unimpressive 2024, which saw fewer deliveries than the year prior amid production delays and increased EV competition.

Musk’s political activities have turned Tesla into a symbolic pariah. Tesla trade-ins have hit record highs, while sales in Europe have dropped. Foreign leaders are calling for boycotts, and the automaker’s stock price has lost about half its value since December. Protests continue to assemble outside Tesla showrooms, dealerships, and even charging stations in an effort to accelerate the automaker’s brand devaluation and, with it, they hope, Musk’s wealth.

Tesla’s Brand Crisis Deepens

Even one of Tesla’s most unwavering bulls, Dan Ives, has begged Musk to focus less on politics and more on his business “or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.” Musk has responded by leaning on his sales pitch that Tesla isn’t an automaker, it’s an AI company, one that will someday commercialize autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.

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Drop in European Sales

Tesla’s new car sales have plunged across Europe, even as sales of electric cars made by other brands rose on the continent. In the first four months of 2025, Tesla’s sales dropped 37.2% in Europe, and in Sweden, they dropped 81% year-over-year. Germany, traditionally one of Tesla’s largest markets and home to one of its gigafactories, has turned against Musk in a big way. A recent survey of 100,000 Germans found 94% would never purchase a Tesla, and sales data backs that up.

The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Tesla’s board began searching for Musk’s potential successor sometime around early April as Musk waded further into Washington to slash government spending. When the report came out, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm declared the WSJ’s reporting to be “absolutely false.” Either way, the report does raise questions about succession planning if Musk-associated brand devaluation continues.

Protests and Violence

Protests are officially a risk “Tesla Takedown” protests have been spreading around the world with the goal of encouraging people to stop buying Tesla’s and to sell their Tesla stock, which protesters say will hurt Musk where he holds most of his power — in his wallet. As of the first-quarter of this year, those protests have officially become an official risk in Tesla’s regulatory filings.

The new risk factor in Tesla’s latest SEC filings warns that certain criticism “has incited protests, some escalating to violence targeting our operations, products and personnel.” Tesla’s lawyers also expanded what’s at risk, saying negative perceptions resulting from the protests, along with the broader criticism of the company, “may harm our brand and our business (including sales) and make it more difficult to raise additional funds if needed.”

While Tesla is the automaker best positioned to parry the blow of Trump’s automotive tariffs in the U.S., the company is still exposed due to Musk’s alliance with the president. In April, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives cut Tesla’s price target to $315 from $550, once again citing Musk’s politics creating a brand crisis for the automaker.

MAGA Hat on Wheels

Recent studies found that Musk’s political leanings have lost him customers in what has historically been Tesla’s base — Democrats — the shift has garnered him street cred with Republicans. One study from researchers at Northeastern University, Columbia University, and the University of Iowa found that Republicans’ likelihood to purchase a Tesla moved up from 7% before Musk’s Trump endorsement to 10.2% after.

BYD Breakthroughs

One of Tesla’s biggest competitors, China’s BYD, has been touting significant breakthroughs in charging. The automaker said this week that its new cars can be charged in five minutes, which would give it a huge competitive edge over Tesla and indeed any other EV maker. China is one of Tesla’s largest markets, but BYD is continuing to bully the automaker on its home turf.

BYD recently unveiled its “God’s Eye” advanced driver assistance system — akin to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD — that will be installed at no additional cost on its entire EV lineup, including its ultra-cheap $9,600 Seagull hatchback. BYD continues to impress consumers with its high-tech range of EVs and hybrids and has once again surpassed Tesla on revenue. In 2024, BYD reported $107 billion in revenue compared to Tesla’s $97.7 billion.

An Aging Lineup and Cybertruck Recalls

Tesla has languished with an aging lineup for years. The Cybertruck was meant to be the automaker’s next big bet that would prove it’s still capable of delivering innovative new models. And indeed, the truck has been popular among American buyers. Still, Tesla has issued eight recalls on the Cybertruck since launching the vehicle in November 2023. Most recently, Tesla had to recall 46,000 Cybertrucks because of an exterior steel trim panel on the side of the windshield that looks like it was stuck on with super glue and can just peel off.