Data out of the Netherlands is bad news for Elon Musk and Tesla, with nearly one-third of Dutch customers considering selling their vehicles because of Musk.
Musk has been mired in controversy, in no small part because of his support of the far-right German Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party with ties to neo-Nazism. Musk conducted a lengthy interview with party leader Alice Weidel, even seemingly agreeing with her false statement that Adolf Hitler was a communist.
Unfortunately for Tesla, it seems some Dutch customers have had enough. According to Fortune, a survey by EenVandaag found that 31% of Dutch customers have either sold their vehicle or are considering it.
“There’s been a debate in the Netherlands around Tesla shame,” pollster Joyce Boverhuis told Fortune. “But it’s one thing just to be embarrassed by Musk. It’s another thing entirely when you take the next step and think about actually selling it.”
As Fortune points out, the survey was conducted before Musk’s salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration, an incident that will likely push even more Tesla owners to consider selling. During the inauguration, Musk twice made a gesture that looked nearly identical to a Nazi salute. Some have tried to explain it as Musk using the gesture to say “my heart goes out” to the audience, but the tech exec has used a far more benign gesture when making such a statement to past audiences.
Interestingly, as the outlet notes, EVs enjoy far wider adoption in the Netherlands than in the US. A significant percentage of Dutch support President Trump.
“We’re following the U.S. in terms of politics and cultural behavior,” Boverhuis added. “To give you an idea of how the Dutch feel about Trump, 23% of 26,000 people we surveyed last week replied by saying they would like to live in a country where he is president.”
As a result, Musk supporters cannot claim that the Dutch are reacting they way they are because of a dislike of Trump, his politics, or Musk’s support of the administration. Instead, it would appear to be a dislike for Musk alone that is causing the issue.
Musk Is a Growing Problem for Tesla
This is not the first time Musk has been accused of dragging Tesla down. Market intelligence firm Caliber found that Tesla’s brand consideration score dropped dramatically over the last few years—from 70% in 2021 to 31% in 2024—likely because of Musk.
“It’s very likely that Musk himself is contributing to the reputational downfall,” said Caliber CEO Shahar Silbershatz.
Ultimately, no one knows whether Musk meant his salute as a Nazi salute, a Roman salute (which the Nazi salute drew inspiration from), or if he meant it as “my heart goes” to the audience gesture. Given that he has used a much different gesture for the latter scenario, it seems unlikely that was his intention.
Ultimately, however, it may be a distinction without a difference. Either Musk willfully made a Nazi salute, or he made a gesture that was so similar that he still should have known better. It’s also not outside the realm of possibility that he made the gesture purely to rile critics, counting on his wealth and position within the administration to shield him from any real consequences.
In the aftermath of the incident, Musk has not denied that it was a Nazi salute, instead mocking critics who took offense at it.
Whatever Musk’s intentions, Tesla owners may finally be growing tired of his child-like antics.
from WebProNews https://ift.tt/KShm5lT
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