There is a Tesla boycott forming. It’s still small, but it’s growing. It has enormous potential consequences.
There is a large gap between Tesla’s share price and its sales performance. The poor sales performance is well understood: Tesla has more competitors than it used to, it hasn’t put out a new model in a while, and the cyber truck has been an engineering and public relations disaster. The stock price is high presumably because investors believe that Musk’s penetration into the US federal government is going to result in competitive advantages. However, if those advantages fail to materialise, some investors would sell. Investors can buy cheaper stock elsewhere and get better returns, so there is no reason to cling to Tesla stock if they perceive its future to be dim.
In December of 2024, Tesla stock sold for a record high of $475.90. Compare this to JP Morgan’s estimate of true value of $135. Since Musk has become active in DOGE, the stock lost 40% of its value, which translated into a $100 billion loss for Musk.
A lower stock price makes it more expensive for Tesla to finance future models, or even fix existing problems. Its future is getting dimmer. At some point, enough investors might come to believe that Tesla’s stock price is never going up again. They would try to minimise their losses, which would lead to a sell-off, or even to a collapse of the stock. It is the large gap between share price and sales performance which is the weakness.
Elon Musk already has one disaster on his résumé: He bought Twitter for $44 billion, mostly using other people’s money, and now the value of the company is estimated to be less than $10 billion. This gap is entirely attributable to Musk. A collapse of Tesla stock, combined with the loss of Twitter’s value, would identify Musk in the business community as toxic. His business opportunities would shrink dramatically. This would put fear in all other pro-fascist billionaires. They would have to wonder which of them would be the next target of such boycott action.
While so many people feel powerless in the face of the rise of fascism in the US, Tesla presents itself as a weakly defended bulwark of that movement. Domestic and international protests against Tesla are chilling to would-be buyers because driving Teslas sets them at odds with an angered and activated segment of the population. A successful boycott would be a chilling reminder to billionaires that civilisation is willing and able to defend itself from them.
Every activist, no matter the topic, ought to be campaigning at least part-time against Tesla; it is the weak link in a chain that binds us all.
Groups
Articles
- ‘A particularly heinous villain’: a disdain for Musk has sparked protests across US
- ‘I’m selling the Nazi mobile’: Tesla owners offload cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes
- Poland urges Tesla boycott after Musk’s call to ‘move past’ Nazi guilt
- National boycott of Tesla urged to protest what activists call “Elon Musk’s moves to destroy our democracy”
- Tesla Sales Tank as Elon Musk Boycott Gathers Steam
- Waves of anti-Tesla and Elon Musk protests ripple throughout Bay Area
- Elon Musk’s Toxicity Could Spell Disaster for Tesla
- Tesla workers shared images from car cameras, including “scenes of intimacy”
- ‘I felt nothing but disgust’: Tesla owners vent their anger at Elon Musk
