The Claim “Is Elon the downfall of Tesla?” is well supported by the article “What’s wrong with Tesla.” It may be too soon to tell if Elon Musk is the downfall of Tesla, given that the negative sales reports have only come out recently. Tesla also cited other reasons for why sales were at a low, some being a weak Chinese economy and supply chain issues caused by the conflicts in the Middle East. The articles also discussed Tesla’s slowness to release new products as a possible reason for the company’s poor sales. However, the disapproval of Elon Musk is overwhelming and a significant reason for its recent lack of success. The article discusses how, as Elon Musk has become more of a controversial figure over the last couple of years, Tesla’s sales began to fall sharply. According to a different CNN article diving deeper into Musk’s effect on Tesla’s sales, S&P Global Mobility data on a state-by-state basis noted, “In the blue states, the percentage of repeat Tesla buyers fell, from 72% in the last quarter of 2023 to 65% in the last quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, repeat Tesla buyers in red states edged up very slightly from 47.6% at the end of 2023 to 48.2% during the last three months of last year.” This evidence does show a swing in sales based on politics associated with Musk. It is too soon to tell if Elon Musk is the singular reason for the “downfall of Tesla”, but significant data along with other factors points to his controversy being a cause of Tesla’s poor sales.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/17/business/tesla-sales-elon-musk-politics/index.html