Musk’s Political Pivot Costs Tesla Big: Brand Drops to 95th, Profits Plunge

Elon Musk’s political maneuvering is taking a toll on Tesla. Marketing professor Scott Galloway recently described Musk’s alignment with the Trump administration and his leadership of the controversial “Doge” department as a catastrophic branding error. Speaking on the Pivot podcast, Galloway noted that Musk is alienating progressive and tech-savvy consumers—the core of Tesla’s market—while courting a political base with little interest in EVs.
Tesla’s brand reputation has nosedived from 8th to 95th in rankings, and European sales data shows declining consumer interest across key markets. Musk’s provocative political commentary on X (formerly Twitter) has only amplified the backlash. Financially, Tesla has seen a dramatic 71% profit drop. Musk now says he’ll step back from “Doge,” citing completion of his work on financial reforms.