Elon Musk took a chainsaw to the US government. Tesla is taking the hit.

Summary

Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, the visionary who pushed the world into an era of electrification. But his slide into politics – specifically his alignment with President Trump and activities within the federal government – has dragged Tesla into uncertainty. For many would-be Tesla buyers, the brand has lost its progressive luster. And while Musk has long been the face of Tesla, that link has taken a negative turn as the billionaire oversees mass layoffs and the elimination of federal programs via the Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla’s disappointing first-quarter deliveries demonstrate just how much the brand has fallen out of favor. The company reported 336,681 deliveries in the first three months of 2025, down from 495,570 in Q4 2024 and 386,810 in the first quarter of last year. That’s off the back of an unimpressive 2024, which saw fewer deliveries than the year prior amid production delays and increased EV competition. For many, Musk’s political activities have turned Tesla into a symbolic pariah. Tesla trade-ins have hit record highs, while sales in Europe have dropped. Foreign leaders are calling for boycotts and the automaker’s stock price has lost about half its value since December. All the while, protesters continue to assemble outside Tesla showrooms, dealerships, and even charging stations in an effort to accelerate the automaker’s brand devaluation and with it, they hope, Musk’s wealth. “They have a certain significant public image problem that’s really something we haven’t seen before in this industry,” Sean Tucker, lead editor at Kelley Blue Book, told TechCrunch. Even one of Tesla’s most unwavering bulls, Dan Ives, has begged Musk to focus less on politics and more on his business “or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.”To combat the effect this might have on Tesla, Musk has and likely will continue to lean on his sales pitch that Tesla isn’t an automaker, it’s an AI compan...