Elon Musk has been suffering the repercussions of the public backlash to his involvement in the American political arena. His actions have had disastrous effects on the world economy. The latest threat to Musk and Tesla is coming out of Rome, Italy. Since Donald Trump became President of the United States, his policies and tariffs have plunged the world economy into chaos. Musk is no doubt terrified at the possible consequences of his actions. His appointment as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency led to some serious problems for Tesla.
What happened to Tesla’s great reputation in the world?
Tesla was founded by two engineers in 2003. Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning saw the electric vehicle as the car of the future and spent a significant amount of time working on their ideas. Then in 2006 Musk invested heavily in the company off of the back of his success with PayPal. He then became CEO in 2008 and the company would never be the same again.
Martin Eberhard was not on board with Elon Musk. He was eventually to leave the company and even went so far as to file a lawsuit against Musk. He filed a lawsuit against Musk, claiming defamation and attempting to erase Eberhard’s contributions. He stated that Musk’s attitude and management style was significantly different as a board member as to when he became CEO.
Marc Tarpenning also left in 2008. However he was not as vocal in his dislike of Musk. Since Musk became CEO, the company made huge strides in the EV sector and released a number of extremely successful cars that the public were happy to buy up in record numbers. The appeal that the EV brought to its buyers was personified by Tesla and the company experienced tremendous growth as a result.
How serious is this new threat coming from Italy?
Since Elon Musk became Donald Trump’s “first buddy” and the head of DOGE, he has made some cuts to federal institutions that had the American public in a state of revolt. The images of Town Halls being held across the country were dominated by citizens demanding the removal of Elon Musk. The result of this was the eventual backlash against Musk’s companies.
Tesla dealerships across the United States have been vandalised and some even set on fire. Now the effect on the global economy has led to new protests and vandalism happening in Europe as well. Rome has become a dangerous place for Tesla to operate after some dealerships were set on fire. The police are actively investigating the act of vandalism. Musk has even made some odd PR claims that some see as simply a distraction from all the problems.
While we understand the frustration being felt globally, we absolutely condemn any acts of vandalism against Tesla or any other company, organisation or person. What sets us apart is the ability to communicate our frustrations in a manner that does pose any harm. These acts of vandalism and violence go against everything that we as a society stand for.
Can Tesla and Elon Musk recover from this new setback?
Tesla’s stock has plummeted since the recent backlash began. Trump’s tariffs have forced the hand of the world’s largest car manufacturers and Tesla is no exception. Can the enigmatic South African born Business tycoon make some changes that can have a positive effect on his reputation? Few CEOs are so involved in the public image of their companies. And few have had such a disastrous effect on their company’s stock price. We can only speculate when the vandalism against Tesla might come to an end. This new attack in Rome is evidence that Musk has a long way to go.
