Ever since Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk led DOGE in the task of cutting government costs, Tesla shares plunged. Last month, TSLA stock bottomed at around $220. The rally to around $300 stalled. Tesla’s brand backlash shows no signs of easing.
The March 29 Tesla Takedown Day did not help, either. Unfortunately, consumers are relating Tesla’s products to Elon Musk. However, their protests might not hurt Musk financially. For example, Musk paid a premium for X, formerly known as Twitter. Last week, xAI bought X for $33 billion. This valuation of the privately owned X is unrealistic: xAI investors may end up with paper losses if X loses more users and advertisers.
Tesla Sales
Sales of Tesla vehicles are falling globally. Demand in Canada and Europe fell, while sales for other EV brands increased Y/Y. The firm will likely report Q1 unit sales of around 365,000, compared to the average estimate of 398,000.
Even without the Tesla boycott, sales in past quarters fell. Markets did not punish TSLA stock because the CEO promised full self-driving, the cyber cab, strong cyber truck sales, and robots. This time, markets may not pay a premium on the stock until Tesla delivers on those new products.
Your Takeaway
The Tesla boycott has not peaked yet. Consumers relate tariffs to the Tesla brand. With no tariff relief, the takedown against Tesla will not end anytime soon.