Tesla, Elon Musk entangled in 'brand tornado crisis moment'
3 Min Read
Dan Ives, managing director at the US financial firm Wedbush and a self-described Tesla "core bull", believes Musk's leadership of DOGE is harming his reputation and company.
-
Elon Musk and Donald Trump speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla Cybertruck (Undated, AFP)
Tesla and Elon Musk are experiencing a "brand tornado crisis moment," and the CEO has to reduce his work for Donald Trump to mitigate the damage, according to one of the company's most vocal fans.
The warning came after Tesla issued a recall of 46,000 Cybertrucks in the United States on Thursday to repair an external panel that might detach while driving.
Protesters declared on Wednesday that they were planning their largest day of action yet against the EV company, with 500 protests scheduled at Tesla stores worldwide on March 29.
Tesla shares have lost a third of their value in the last month due to a variety of investor worries, including the impact on sales of Musk's high-profile participation with the Trump administration, which included slashing the public sector through his "department of government efficiency" (DOGE).
Dan Ives, managing director at the US financial firm Wedbush and a self-described Tesla "core bull", claimed Musk's leadership of DOGE is harming the multibillionaire's reputation and the company he oversees.
"The brand damage started off as limited in our view based on our initial survey work … but now has spread globally over the last few weeks into what we would characterize as a brand tornado crisis moment for Musk and Tesla," Ives said in an email to investors.
Musk has reduced employment and spending in his capacity, but a US judge concluded on Tuesday that Musk and DOGE were likely to have violated the US Constitution by closing the US Agency for International Development.
Ives highlighted protests at Tesla shops, vandalism of automobiles, and global demonstrations as evidence of a "massive overhang for Tesla's stock." He claimed Musk was at a "moment of truth" and needed to act.
“Tesla and Musk are facing a defining chapter in their future, and how Musk handles this in the next few months will be pivotal to Tesla's long-term growth trajectory. Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla … they are synonymous and attached together and cannot be separated,” he contended.
He also asked Musk to provide a strategy and timeline for the introduction of new, lower-cost vehicles, as well as the launch of fully self-driving vehicles in Austin, Texas, in June. "There is one person Tesla investors need to hear from … Musk," Ives claimed.
The Vancouver Auto Show said it was eliminating Tesla hours before it began on Wednesday in western Canada, with organizers assuring reporters that the decision was not taken lightly.
Musk has faced a backlash in Canada for months over his support for Trump, which has escalated in recent weeks as the president dragged Canada into a harsh trade war and frequently hinted at the nation becoming the 51st state of the United States.
More than 375,000 Canadians signed a petition in February to deprive Musk of his Canadian citizenship.
Meanwhile, Tesla Takedown, which organized protests against Tesla and Musk, organized a "day of action" that included rallies at every showroom in the United States and 500 other locations worldwide. In a social media statement, the organization asked demonstrators to "turn out in numbers to fight Elon Musk's illegal coup".
