Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. Ever Since world's richest man Elon Musk has bought Twitter, the world's most valuable car company Tesla has no end to its ensuing problems. To count a few, production problems in some countries, increasing competition, falling stock prices and Musk's shifting focus are driving loyal customers away from Tesla. Prominent analysts and investors have started questioning whether Tesla will be able to maintain its dominance of the electric vehicle market. A survey has found that Musk's behavior on Twitter has damaged Tesla's brand among moderates. The main reason for investors' concern is no one else but Elon Musk. The Twitter purchase puts Musk's role at a critical juncture at Tesla which is now finding it difficult to ramp up production at its new factories in Austin, US, and Berlin, Germany. Tesla's factory in Shanghai, China has been repeatedly closed due to Covid restrictions. Rising interest rates and the shadow of a recession are wreaking havoc on demand for Tesla vehicles.
Tesla's image dented
According to research firm Morning Consult, survey data indicates that Musk's behavior has damaged Tesla's brand among liberals. Tesla's rating among the public fell from 31 points at the beginning of the year to 10 percent at the end of November. On the other hand, Tesla's rating among Republican supporters has increased from 21 to 27 points. According to the firm, this is due to Musk taking up some conservative causes. Tesla is becoming a discriminatory brand, says analyst Jordan Marlatt adding that this will have serious consequences for Tesla in the future. Tesla leads in sales of electric vehicles in Germany but other companies are also making progress. A survey by market research firm PULS in Nuremberg, Germany, found that half of people considering a new car purchase said they would no longer consider Tesla because of Twitter. The company had surveyed 1010 people in the first week of December.
Ford, GM and Hyundai giving tough competition
In the US, electric vehicles from Ford, General Motors and Hyundai are giving tough competition to Tesla. The coming of the Cadillac Lyric and Nissan Aria models will further increase the competition. In China, Tesla is facing a challenge from local company BYD. In Europe, Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi are selling more electric cars than Tesla.
Staff layoffs hurt Musk's reputation
Twitter chaos, layoffs have damaged Musk's reputation, besides his acidic tweets also risk alienating potential customers. Musk demanded the prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fossey, America's leading infectious disease expert. In a tweet, he accused Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of harming America.
