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Tesla’s brand value has taken a $15 billion hit and Elon Musk is the reason why, analysis has shown.
The electric car company – and Elon Musk – have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons recently.
Some 5 million Teslas were called back worldwide last year, making it the most recalled automotive brand of 2024.
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On top of that, a major investor sold $585 million worth of shares, once again because of the tech billionaire.
And, on the internet, people have been ripping into the controversial Cybertruck’s build quality.
Elon Musk came in as CEO of Tesla in 2008 but was an early investor when the brand was founded in 2003 (Ricky Carioti – Pool/Getty Images)
Well, analysis by research and consulting firm Brand Finance found Tesla’s brand value dropped for its second consecutive year in 2024.
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It now stands at an estimated $43 billion, down from $58.3 billion at the beginning of 2024 and $66.2 billion at the start of 2023, according to the firm’s annual ranking.
Tesla’s stock price did rocket by 63 percent last year, hitting a record high in December following Donald Trump’s November election win.
But Brand Finance CEO David Haigh commented that CEO Musk – who was twice accused of making a 'Nazi salute’ at President Trump’s inauguration on Monday – and his public antics have its downsides.
Haigh explained: “There are people who think he’s wonderful, but many that don’t.
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„If you are buying electric vehicles, his persona is highly likely to impact your view of whether or not you want to buy one of his company’s cars, but that’s only one of many factors.”
The Tesla CEO has been at the center of a number of controversies (Christian Marquardt – Pool/Getty Images)
Brand Finance analyzed answers from about 175,000 survey respondents worldwide, with 16,000 people sharing their views on Tesla.
And its scores across key measurements including 'consideration,’ 'reputation’ and 'recommendation’ tanked in the US, Europe and Asia, the research found.
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In Europe, its 'consideration’ score – whether people would think about buying from a brand – dropped from 21 percent to 16 percent on average from 2024 to 2025.
And in what will be a surprise to absolutely no one, Tesla maintained a high loyalty score of 90% in the US.
So, customers who already owned a Tesla vehicle 'were likely to keep driving it over the next 12 months,’ according to CNBC.
Its US recommendation score dropped from 8.2 out of 10 to 4.3, however…
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Tesla’s recommendation scores dropped in the US, despite loyalty among owners (John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Haigh said Tesla’s plummeting scores suggests the company’s 'pulling power is weakening,’ adding there’s a risk that Tesla 'won’t be able to sell so many products, and it won’t be able to sell at such high prices as it did before.’
He continued: “Unless Tesla can come up with a whole range of new products that will really excite consumers, and unless they can mitigate some of the antagonism caused by their leader, they will be seen as past their peak and will begin to go down.”
Elsewhere, analysts appear to view Trump’s presidency as a positive for Tesla – but an overall negative for electric vehicles.
In early January, JPMorgan estimated that about 40% of Tesla’s profits would be in danger after Trump takes office, as per Investor’s Business Daily.
This is taking into account Trump’s proposals to remove EV tax credits and subsidies.
„Tesla does not appear to us on track to dominate the global auto industry amidst the electrification transition, which we view as only the starting point for present valuation,” JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman wrote.
UNILAD has reached out to Tesla for comment.