Kelley Blue Book: Tesla's approval rating sinks into negative territory, survey finds

[Celerity]

There appears to be a political connection

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/teslas-approval-rating-sinks-into-negative-territory-survey-finds-11670602596



Tesla’s approval rating has fallen fast, according to one survey. Yes, like politicians, automobile makers have approval ratings. At least the U.K.-based research firm YouGov treats them as if they do. YouGov conducts daily surveys testing consumer perceptions of thousands of prominent brands. Tesla has been included in the list since 2016, with more consumers having a positive view of the EV maker than a negative view. That has changed. YouGov reports that, on Nov. 7, Tesla slipped into the red.

It happened fast

The electric-car maker started 2022 with a net-positive score of 5.9%, then peaked in May at 6.7%. In early November, it fell to a negative-1.4% reading. YouGov found a political divide in the numbers. As the Wall Street Journal explains, “self-described liberals now view Tesla more negatively than conservatives, though conservatives also have a negative view of the brand on average.”

What changed to influence opinions so radically? Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously bought the social network Twitter at the end of October and has been a prominent figure in the news for reshaping its operations. The company has also come under criminal investigation over a series of accidents that may have involved its driver assistance software, according to Reuters.

A second survey backs the trend

Morning Consult, a U.S.-based polling firm, also finds that negative perceptions of Tesla are increasing. The company surveys about 200 Americans daily to test their attitudes about several prominent brands. At the start of 2022, it said, 43% of Americans viewed Tesla positively, while 15% had a negative opinion of the company. As of Nov. 27, 38% saw the company positively, while 22% viewed it negatively. Morning Consult’s numbers also reinforce the political divide. Among self-described Democrats, 24.8% saw Tesla positively in October. Just 10.4% said the same at the end of November. Self-described Republicans saw their opinion of the company rise, from a favorable 20% to 26.5%, over the same period.

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[getagrip_already]

1. he went to war with the consumers who buy his products.....

Who would have thought those consumers might react negatively?

And those he is supporting don't buy EV's as a rule. they still like their black smoke belching diesels.

So you alienate the consumers who would buy your product, and you have a product your supporters won't use.

Now there is a business plan for the ages.

But it is still making him $56B per year in salary and benefits from tesla and space-x.

He really doesn't need to care at this point.

[Celerity]

4. that 56 billion usd was mostly stock, not salary

https://observer.com/2020/10/elon-musk-tesla-performance-bonus-payment-history/

snip

Most of Musk’s wealth gain this year comes from Tesla’s surging stock price, as well as his increased ownership in the company. At the end of 2019, Musk owned 20 percent of Tesla. Since then, he has earned three giant stock option packages as part of his controversial performance-based compensation plan, which could have boosted his ownership—had he exercised those options.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk unlocked his latest bonus, a stock option award worth $3.5 billion, after Tesla met the target of maintaining a six-month average market value of over $250 billion.

That bonus was the fourth payment of a 12-tranche award program Tesla’s board approved of in March 2018. Under the plan, Musk is eligible to receive a total of $56 billion worth of stock options over 10 years on the condition that he meets a set of lofty goals, including growing Tesla’s market cap to $650 billion by 2028 at a pace of at least $50 billion every 10 months.

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[Initech]

2. Elon played a stupid game and now he's winning stupid prizes.

You don't hang out with Nazis, white nationalists, and other violent lunatics. When you do you are playing with fire. There's a reason these shitheads were banned from mainstream social media.

[kimbutgar]

3. There is a lot in Daly City and it is packed with cars

Earlier this year there were slim pickings now the lot has a variety of choices.

A friend of mine was going to buy one and ended up cancelling and lost the $250 deposit.

[Poiuyt]

5. Even before Musk bought Twitter, Tesla drivers were perceived negatively

Not a reflection on the car, just the drivers. They were seen as being entitled. More so than BMW drivers.

[brush]

6. Don't they still have big self-drving problems?

And the cars are not that great looking. They're just another lozenge-shaped vehicle on the road where as Mercedes, Jags, Cadillacs, Volvos, other luxury brands have distinctive looks.

[Miguelito Loveless]

8. Meh, looks are a matter of taste

I have been driving (3) one for 4 years, before Musk decided to recast himself as a horse's ass. I will never go back to gas cars, but I will never by another Tesla while Musk runs the company.

[brush]

9. Now you're taling.

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. LOL

Cleaned up typos.

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. My problems with other drivers have been exclusively

picks ups with Trump/MAGA bumper stickers.