Commentary: Musk's partisan actions cost Tesla more than 1 million car sales

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If you’ve spent any time on a California freeway, you’ve probably seen an increasing number of Tesla cars on the road bearing anti-Musk bumper stickers.“I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy,” reads one.“Eco-friendly, not Elon-friendly,” reads another.

Some bear Elon Musk’s name or image with a bright red slash through them.Those defensive messages would seem to validate the reasonable expectation that Tesla Chief Executive Musk’s foray into partisan politics — specifically, far-right politics — has sapped the appeal among Democrats and liberals for a product that once proclaimed its owners’ commitment to the fight against global warming and other progressive policies.It’s probably not a good idea to alienate your core constituency with extracurricular political activities if you’re a CEO— Kenneth Gillingham, YaleA new study from Yale researchers has put meat on that bone.

They found that Musk’s partisan behavior has cost Tesla as many as 1.26 million car sales since October 2022.That’s when Musk acquired the social media platform Twitter and gave greater access on it to the far right and other extremist voices.Musk intensified his partisan journey during the run-up to the 2024 presidential campaign, when he heavily funded Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, and after Trump’s inauguration, when he launched the DOGE service, which strewed chaos throughout the federal government by instituting mass layoffs purportedly in the name of budget-cutting.Commentary on economics and more from a Pulitzer Prize winner.

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.What the sales numbers say is that “it’s probably not a good idea to alienate your core constituency with extracurricular political activities if you’re a CEO,” says Kenneth T.

Gillingham, an economics professor at Yale’s School of the Environment and ...