Elon Musk can either run Tesla, or he can carry on as President Trump's first buddy. "But he can't do both," said Matthew Lynn in The Daily Telegraph. The tech billionaire's controversial role as Doge's slasher-in-chief is starting to inflict "real damage" on his electric car firm, with sales plummeting by more than 70% in Australia and Germany, and 45% in Europe overall compared with this time last year. Tesla's share price has halved; showrooms are being picketed; and liberals are covering their Teslas with stickers reading "I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy".
The carmaker was already facing a "much more crowded market", said Jim Norton in the same paper, because Chinese rivals have muscled their way in with cheaper alternatives. But Musk's political antics – slashing federal jobs in the US, blasting European leaders, endorsing far-right parties – have turned one of the most coveted electric vehicle brands "toxic".
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As for Musk, said Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic, I've never seen the poor centi-billionaire looking so "defeated". It's not just Tesla. European governments are also looking for alternatives to replace Musk's Starlink satellites. His personal brand is crumbling under the weight of his brash political interventions – and that's a big problem for the world's richest man.
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