It seems that the role of Elon Musk as Caesar Trump and the indulgence in right -wing policy turns his attention from Tesla in a dangerous moment for the electric car company.
Tesla’s sales decreased by 1 percent last year, even with the growth of the global electric cars market by 25 percent. Mr. Musk did not address this weak performance, and did not provide any concrete plan to revive sales. He also did not provide any details about a more affordable model that Tesla says will start production this year. In the past, Mr. Musk spent months or years promoting vehicles before they appeared in the galleries.
He spent most of his time since the elections in Washington and at the home of Mr. Trump in Florida – away from Austin, Texas, where there is in Tesla its headquarters and factory, or the San Francisco Bay area, where there is a factory and engineering offices.
In the past decade or so, Tesla moved from an emerging company that struggles to raise the global auto industry. The company sold millions of electric cars and made huge profits, forcing car manufacturers to invest billions of dollars to catch up with knees. Tesla’s success was reflected in his high share price, which helped make Mr. Musk the richest person in the world.
But it seems that he has now lost his interest in grinding work represented in developing, producing and selling cars, investors and analysts. This can have serious repercussions for his company and the auto industry, which employs millions of people around the world.
Even before joining the Trump administration as head of the Ministry of Government efficiency, Mr. Musk, who runs many investors and corporate governance experts, led to a question about whether it was very spread. Besides Tesla, Mr. Musk controls and runs Spacex, whose missiles carry astronauts and satellites for NASA and others; X, social networking site; And Xai, which develops artificial intelligence. He wants to colonize Mars.
“We have no executive director who focuses completely on ensuring that Tesla is still a leader in the EV space,” said Brad Lander, New York City correspondents, who oversees pension funds for employees with $ 1.25 billion.
Mr. Lander said that he wanted to remain in the board of directors of Tesla and give up his executive duties for a person who is full -time. Mr. Lander said: “This is not too much for his request,” said Mr. Lander. “This is just a basic model for the governance of shareholders in America.”
Eric Talle, a professor of law school at Colombia, who focuses on corporate governance, said few responsibilities, if any, have ever had a set of responsibilities. Al -Sayed Talil said that although some of the companies of Mr. Musk benefit from his relations with the president, it is actually impossible for Mr. Musk’s commercial and political interests not to collide in ways that could harm Tesla and other companies.
Mr. Talley said: “The more you divide your loyalties, the more difficult it is to claim that you have a non -divided loyalty to any company.”
Mr. Musk and Tesla did not respond to emails seeking to comment.
In the past, he and the company’s board of directors defended the management of Mr. Musk to Tasla and rejected the idea that he was very widespread. They pointed to the company’s shares of high and strong profits as evidence that Tesla did not suffer due to his other obligations.
It seems that Mr. Musk’s support for the right -wing leaders at home and in Germany, and it appears that Britain, France and other countries have strengthened large numbers of clients.
There are signs that the political activities of Mr. Musk and their presence in Tesla are dissatisfied with the company.
Resentment was clear during an extraordinary meeting last month at the company’s offices in Palu Alto, California, where many employees charged them.
One of the senior executives who spoke at the meeting told the employees that, too, he was frustrated by the behavior of Mr. McCard for Mr. Musk and the departure of some senior executives who had a mild impact. The director said that the participants in the polarized social media of the CEO and work in the Trump administration were leading customers, which prompted some employees to leave and made it difficult to employ new talents in Tesla, according to an audio recording of the meeting that was reviewed by the new York Times.
The CEO urged employees to focus on their work and control Mr. Musk’s comments on X and other forums. “I just ignore it and think about what we are working on and is it exciting for me and does it have an effect?” The director said. “This is the best advice I can give how to deal with it.”
The registration was first reported by the Washington Post.
There are signs that at least some investors also have doubts. Tesla’s share price has decreased by 25 percent since mid -December, although it has been over 40 percent since the elections. The S& P 500 stock index has risen about 6 percent since the elections.
Many investors still trust Mr. Musk. For this reason, Wall Street Tesla has dealt more than three times the value of Toyota, the largest auto industry company in the world.
Optimistic investors believe that the company will develop cars that can push itself in most circumstances. ARK Invest, an investment company for a long time about Mr. Musk’s efforts, estimates that Tesla can control half a market of $ 10 trillion for independent horse riding services.
Mr. Musk said in January: “I see a way to Tesla being the most valuable company in the world,” Mr. Musk said in January. He added that growth “will be an overwhelming majority due to independent vehicles and independent human robots.”
What seemed surprisingly not interested in Tesla is the largest Tesla works today: selling cars.
During a phone call on the phone last month to discuss the results of Tesla in the fourth quarter, one of the financial analysts asked him to clarify his plans to sell more cars to benefit from the Tesla competitive feature in technology that allows cars in some cases to direct, accelerate and slow down. Mr. Musk said he did not understand the question and said that the company has already had millions of cars on the road.
The company lost its share on the market to BYD in China; BMW and Volkswagen in Europe; Hyundai and General Motors in the United States. Some Tesla drivers, such as musician Sherrill Crowe, are so disturbed by Mr. Musk’s political activities that they are selling their cars or say they will not buy another way.
In January, Tesla sales decreased by 59 percent in Germany, 63 percent in France and 12 percent in Britain after Mr. Musk acknowledged the right -wing politicians and made inflammatory statements on social media. Tesla sales decreased by 12 percent last year in California, which represents nearly a third of the electric cars sold in the United States.
“A real hate”, Ross Jerber, CEO of GERBER Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, wrote on a X publication along with a picture of the Cybertruck line that someone distortes with obscene.
But the political reaction is not the only problem of the company.
Tesla continues to rely on two cars, model 3 and the Y, compared to 95 percent of its sales. BYD has more than ten electrical models, some cost less than $ 20,000. The model starts 3 from $ 42,000 in the United States before taking into account 7500 dollar tax credit.
Car experts say Tesla strongly needs a cheaper car to revive sales. But last year, Mr. Musk was delayed indefinitely to build a low -cost car in Monterrey, Mexico, which cost $ 25,000.
The company promised to start producing a new model in its current factories by the end of June, but it did not offer a preliminary model or provide details. Analysts expect to rely on the 3 -year -based model and cost more than $ 25,000.
“You may think they will be bound and try to benefit from the introduction they have on other players,” said Michael Linux, a professor of business at the University of Virginia. He added: “It asks the question,” Was there a lack of attention? “
Some investors said that Mr. Musk’s lack of cars was evident in a few he said about Mr. Trump’s initiatives, which could harm Tesla sales.
Ford CEO, Jim Farley, said last week that some of the plans of Mr. Trump to cancel the incentives of the Baiden electric cars can force the company to lay off workers. But Mr. Musk said nothing about them publicly.
Environmentalists in particular are concerned that Mr. Musk, who once spoke about electric cars as a solution to climate change, has allied with climate change denunciation.
“It is really related to ELON focusing on the capital more than EV production,” said Catherine Garcia, director of clean transportation for all the campaign at Sierra Club.
Mr. Musk argued that electric cars do not need government incentives. “You cannot stop the appearance of electric cars,” Mr. Musk said in January. “It will happen.”