Although Elon Musk's recent actions shine a very negative light on Tesla, it is not accurate to claim that musk is its downfall, in fact, with his history of previous controversies, its unlikely to have a negative effect on the company. Tesla sales peaked in 2023, how ever Elon Musk became a board member in 2004, whereafter he climbed the ladder of power. (https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-us-sales-figures/ , https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk#:~:text=Elon%20is%20Technoking%20of%20Tesla,the%20Board%20since%20April%20200). However, musk has been racist and controversial publicly in many years past. He downplayed the severity of Covid-19 as shutdowns began, comparing Justin Trudeau to Hitler over vaccine mandates (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/25/timeline-elon-musks-history-twitter), and joked about sending "space dragons with lazers" to Ukraine in 2018, and spent millions to settle security fraud. At this point, sources point to Elon already looking to be Teslas "downfall", as in the same year Telsa investors had to order him to "shut up", as his assertions were costing them money (2022 https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/elon-musk-most-controversial-moments-2658382450#). Even so, Tesla grew. Musk is accused of a very unethical long term view of having children; Musk's daughter Vivian claims he uses sex selective IVF for his kids, wanting a male legacy, and this is why he hates her for being transgender, claiming she is "dead". This also raises concerns of sexism and misogyny (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/elon-musks-daughter-claims-he-uses-sex-selective-ivf-to-ensure-male-children-heres-what-we-know-about-the-procedure/articleshow/118970559.cms). On Twitter, Musk retweeted a post claiming “Stalin, Mao, and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector employees did.” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/14/elon-musk-hitler-federal-workers/82402023007/). Recently, one of Musk's various ex wives, Grimes, publicly begged him for help with one of their 3 childrens serious medical crisis, after his refusal to acknowledge this privately (https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/elon-musk-chainsaw-cpac-grimes-help-child-medical-emergency#:~:text=In%20a%20series%20of%20since,This%20requires%20immediate%20attention.%E2%80%9D). Musks "selective breeding", neglect for children, and excusal of Hitler is especially interesting regarding his rampant use of the R slur. Starting in 1910, "mental retardation" was used as a diagnosis, and it was thought that disabilities, and even race and sexual orientation could be “bred out”. The Eugenics movement was a huge inspiration for the Nazi party, and the Third Reich began murdering and sterilizing Germans with disabilities in euthanasia programs (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/03/r-word-right-wing-rise). However, the actions reffered to by the poser of this question, I'm sure, is Elon's use of the Seig Heil at a rally. Initially after this, as a result of Tesla Takedown protests, their stock plummeted by 50%. However, Elon continues in his place of power at Tesla. Many people have been fired from their jobs over Nazi salutes, including a CEO, realtor, county official, and priest. However, Musk wields so much political power that this will likely never effect his career, or that of Tesla in the long term ( https://www.npr.org/2025/03/15/nx-s1-5305259/musk-salute-humor-controversy). Musk and the company are able to shrug off the situation as a joke. Trumps election solidifies Teslas success, with positive bidding on Tesla stock still occurring (https://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/musk-tesla-trump-nazi-salute). Just as his past of controversy and racism never effected Tesla's success, his current continuation is likely to have a similar effect, especially with his strong amount of governmental support.
