The Tesla takedown has begun. A national protest movement seeks to strike a blow to Elon Musk’s net worth

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The Tesla takedown has begun. A national protest movement seeks to strike a blow to Elon Musk’s net worth

As DOGE barrels through D.C., Americans on the ground are starting to mobilize outside Tesla dealerships.

www.thestar.com.my

The Tesla takedown has begun. A national protest movement seeks to strike a blow to Elon Musk’s net worth​

---

By Sam Blum

• Technology
  
• Monday, 24 Feb 2025
  
  4:53 PM MYT
  

Demonstrators gather for a protest against Musk and electric car maker Tesla on Feb 22, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. Hundreds rallied at various entrances to the University Village shopping mall, in addition to the Tesla showroom's storefront at the mall. — AFP

The first month of Donald Trump’s return to the White House has been inarguably dominated by an unelected private citizen. Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has barged into the federal government and laid much of the greater bureaucracy to waste through a rash of layoffs and cost-slashing, despite several court challenges and missteps.

Tesla buyers, who lean left, are displaying anti-Elon bumper stickers, and a protest movement is emerging that aims to strike Musk where it could potentially hurt the CEO: Tesla’s share price. Following a series of protests at Tesla dealerships around the country last weekend, organisers of Tesla Takedown are eyeing a prolonged campaign that puts the national spotlight on Musk’s extremism, which includes brandishing a Nazi salute during Trump’s January inauguration ceremony.

One of the group’s organisers is the actor and filmmaker Alex Winter, who is best known for his role in the sci-fi comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Winter played Bill, opposite Keanu Reeves as Ted. “This is obviously just part of a larger initiative to alert the public and the shareholders that Tesla is not a small piece of Musk’s portfolio. It is where his wealth is tied,” Winter tells Inc.

ALSO READ: Malaysians on social media join calls for Tesla boycott

The Tesla Takedown movement implores Americans not only to get into the streets, but to “sell your Teslas” and “dump your stock”. It’s a tactical approach that could have real repercussions — especially if a shareholder revolt were triggered during Musk’s prolonged foray into politics.

The billionaire industrialist’s team, comprised of corporate lieutenants and former interns from across Musk’s empire, has gutted agencies, firing thousands of career civil servants and freezing trillions of dollars in federal grants. The result has been cataclysmic for things like government funded cancer research and foreign aid for victims of chemical warfare.

Damaging Musk’s wealth is a daunting task. Tesla, which Musk has led as CEO since 2008, has a market capitalization of US$1.14 trillion (RM5.02 trillion). Musk owns around 13% of the company’s shares, which amounts roughly to US$73bil (RM321.52bil). But there is a simple and practical objective behind descending on Tesla dealerships with a message of Musk’s toxicity: It could conceivably cause Tesla stock to slide and tank the net worth of the world’s richest man.

“This idea of connecting Tesla’s value to Musk’s value is becoming pervasive, and I think that is where the power lies,” Winter says.

That might be a fanciful hope. While Tesla stock has skidded over the last month by nearly 15%, its share price is relatively healthy long term. Over the last year, it’s risen 87%, and is currently sitting at US$360 (RM1,585).

But the company is still vulnerable to market pressure. And as Musk wreaks irreparable damage to his personal brand, Tesla sales are tanking, especially in Europe: In Germany, sales plunged by 59% in January, following Musk’s endorsement of the country’s far-right AfD party. They were also down 63% in France year-over-year, in January.

The EV-maker’s net income in the fourth quarter of 2024 fell 71% from the same time in the previous year, slumping from US$7.93bil (RM34.93bil) to US$2.31bil (RM10.17bil), according to the company’s latest earnings.

The Tesla protests, which have so far cropped up in New York, Arizona, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, come amid an increasingly visible wave of popular revolts against corporations: Bud-Light was an object of conservative scorn for working with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in 2023. Target modified its sales of Pride-themed merchandise following blowback from conservatives last year and now faces consumer criticism from liberals over its rollback of corporate DEI policies.

The Tesla Takedown movement is of a different magnitude, because the company’s CEO is a presidential mega-donor who works with the White House.

“The aim on our end isn’t to sort of taint Tesla broadly, but to say to the shareholders and to the board, this guy is toxic,” Winter says. – Inc./Tribune News Service

 

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Stephen King (@stephenking.bsky.social)

bsky.app

Spoiler: full text & large images

1/30
Stephen King

2/30
‪Matt Snyder‬ ‪@ramen45.bsky.social‬

Shame too, considering he didn't create Tesla.

3/30
‪iechydda.bsky.social‬ ‪@iechydda.bsky.social‬

Love this.

4/30
‪natfinplan.bsky.social‬ ‪@natfinplan.bsky.social‬

If you agree, please don't just share on this forum. Tell your reps in DC what you think. Resist. It only takes a few minutes and it doesn’t cost any money.
We don’t need money in politics. We just need people to participate.

National Financial Plan – The United States needs a long-term Financial Plan

5/30
‪Koobiac (Paul)‬ ‪@koobiac.bsky.social‬

6/30
‪tonarbre.bsky.social‬ ‪@tonarbre.bsky.social‬

“Thats illegal, youre a criminal. You should be arrested”

7/30
‪dugscape.bsky.social‬ ‪@dugscape.bsky.social‬

?

8/30
‪Auntie Marcia‬ ‪@marsemeis.bsky.social‬

That’s elons standard reply to anything anyone posts that he doesn’t like

9/30
‪dugscape.bsky.social‬ ‪@dugscape.bsky.social‬

Don't follow elon & hope you are not a baiter.

10/30
‪Auntie Marcia‬ ‪@marsemeis.bsky.social‬

You had a question, I happened to know the answer.

11/30
‪dugscape.bsky.social‬ ‪@dugscape.bsky.social‬

That was not an answer to my question. I asked what that statement was supposed to mean.
No harm done.

12/30
‪tonarbre.bsky.social‬ ‪@tonarbre.bsky.social‬

Elon posted on social one time about the protesting. Saying that it was illegal and they were criminals who should be arrested. Thats what elon says when things make him upset.

I was mocking him in my reply to you, hence the “ “ marks. No worries though, not everyone sees everything elon does

13/30
‪sue-jash.bsky.social‬ ‪@sue-jash.bsky.social‬

Hmmm clever and so dispiriting

14/30
‪Jim Cox‬ ‪@bisasquatch.bsky.social‬

Bluesky

15/30
‪Brisa Fresca‬ ‪@mrsdoos.bsky.social‬

16/30
‪scar68.bsky.social‬ ‪@scar68.bsky.social‬

Love the sentiment but pass.

17/30
‪Iratussimo ‬ ‪@sapiosimmo.bsky.social‬

18/30
‪notquitedeadyet357.bsky.social‬ ‪@notquitedeadyet357.bsky.social‬

19/30
‪Dr MJ Poppe‬ ‪@dr-matthew-poppe.bsky.social‬

LMAO

20/30
‪Ken Jones‬ ‪@350kjones.bsky.social‬

Investors are sending a message with TSLA stock down over 8% today and 30% since inauguration. It is time for anyone who has that stock in a mutual fund they hold to sell the mutual fund to show Musk the cost of his actions that he understands.

21/30
‪Jimmy Lin‬ ‪@itzjimboi.bsky.social‬

It’s the only way we can send a strong message to people like him. Without his stock, he has no leverage to do anything else.

22/30
‪Kokoma‬ ‪@chappea.bsky.social‬

5

23/30
‪PROG‬ ‪@prog.bsky.social‬

This will make him fuhrerious

24/30
‪Tom Donnelly ‬ ‪@tomdonnelly67.bsky.social‬

Worth a follow

25/30
‪Andrew Lindsey‬ ‪@andrewlindsey.bsky.social‬

Worth remembering that Tesla is a good product that was bought by a terrible person.

26/30
‪Andrew Lindsey‬ ‪@andrewlindsey.bsky.social‬

And then there's VW, which was co-founded by another terrible person. Is there something about cars and fascists? *smh*

27/30
‪barbrn07.bsky.social‬ ‪@barbrn07.bsky.social‬

And don’t forget Ford Motor

28/30
‪Rob J ‬ ‪@robjenson.bsky.social‬

29/30
‪Blurst Lady‬ ‪@jackieocrassis.satan.social‬

I've worked with MANY people on the spectrum and this isn't that. We all know it's drug use and I think it's fukking deplorable saying it's autism. Rot in hell.

30/30
‪Skywolfen‬ ‪@skywolfen.bsky.social‬

He has never been diagnosed with any autism spectrum. He says that to garner sympathy and attention. He is a certified liar just like the other Nazis!

To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196

 

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Will Bunch (@willbunch.bsky.social)

There's something happening here "I don't know what else to do," one man told me after he made a sign mocking Elon Musk and joined a protest outside a Tesla dealer in the Philly suburbs, part of a weekend action that drew thousands across the U.S. My new column...

bsky.app

Spoiler: full text & large images

1/30
Will Bunch

There's something happening here

"I don't know what else to do," one man told me after he made a sign mocking Elon Musk and joined a protest outside a Tesla dealer in the Philly suburbs, part of a weekend action that drew thousands across the U.S.

My new column Outside Tesla in the Philly suburbs, the green shoots of an American uprising | Will Bunch

2/30
‪Josh‬ ‪@hobbesjosh.bsky.social‬

The democrats need a movement similar to the Tea Party movement in 2009. That is what will jump start all of this

3/30
‪Dokterrudi‬ ‪@dokterrudi.bsky.social‬

…only without the silly hats..

4/30
‪Paul Cohen‬ ‪@paulecohen.bsky.social‬

and without the protofascism

5/30
‪Amy ‬ ‪@nailsinthewild.bsky.social‬

6/30
‪Rob Holland‬ ‪@rob1946.bsky.social‬

Next week, on Mar 4, is the State of the Union, at which Dear Leader will brag endlessly about his accomplishments. Unless we wake them up, the Dems will sit glumly withholding applause.

This is abject surrender.

Contact your rep and tell them to participate in a walkout!

Bluesky

7/30
‪gapatriot.bsky.social‬ ‪@gapatriot.bsky.social‬

The Dem leadership won't allow a walkout. It's disrespectful to the office. They won't lower the party as the Rs have and engage in childish behavior. There is no reason to give Trump ammo to attack Democrats. They need to be morally above Trump and his sycophants.

8/30
‪Rob Holland‬ ‪@rob1946.bsky.social‬

And where has our moral high ground gotten us? Being ruled by fascists. It took WWII to get rid of them last time.

9/30
‪Larissa‬ ‪@thewza.bsky.social‬

And we didn't even get rid of them then, the remaining ones just relocated, or their kids stepped up.

10/30
‪Victoria Love‬ ‪@victorialove.bsky.social‬

But no thanks to our fukking Democratic “leadership”. WTF, Schumer and Jeffries! We are waiting for the plan. For some guidance.

We want to be mobilized. Obama made the same, fatal, mistake, when he let McConnell steal Garland’s SC seat.

They are fukking doing it again.

11/30
‪Victoria Love‬ ‪@victorialove.bsky.social‬

I’m joining a group protesting outside Rep “Buddy Carter’s office in Brunswick, GA, on Wednesday. There is a protest every Wednesday.

But what is our goal? What is our message? It is all over the fukking map, because we have no godsdamned leadership!

12/30
‪Trabb's Boy‬ ‪@realtrabbsboy.bsky.social‬

Left-leaning, George Soros-funded groups Indivisible and MoveOn were at the center of the protests as they recruited activists to oppose billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to slash government spending and enact reforms.

13/30
‪Hedy Lamarr‬ ‪@chudonew.bsky.social‬

Tuesday, the House will bring its budget CUTS to the Congress floor.

THIS IS HOW WE STOP IT . . .
CALL
Call your reps & senators

Guidance for calling
5 Calls

Be firm. Get personal.

Leave voicemails at night if you can’t get through during the day.

Call local offices if DC number is busy.

14/30
‪Nerdbro3000‬ ‪@nerdbro3000.bsky.social‬

‘There’s something happening here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear…’
But it looks promising!

15/30
‪It’s Joe‬ ‪@itsjoebentley.bsky.social‬

16/30
‪Eric Winick‬ ‪@eawinick.bsky.social‬

What it is, is exactly clear.

17/30
‪mmkeefe.bsky.social‬ ‪@mmkeefe.bsky.social‬

Stop children what’s that sound

18/30
‪Stephanie Smith‬ ‪@ssmithnyc.bsky.social‬

"I don't know what else to do," said a protestor. --Democrats, take note. You have a population willing to step up. They want to help, they want to take action. They're looking for ways.
Stop diddling. Bluesky

19/30
‪It’s Joe‬ ‪@itsjoebentley.bsky.social‬

This Friday.

20/30
‪radiogirl1071.bsky.social‬ ‪@radiogirl1071.bsky.social‬



21/30
‪Tim Wiese‬ ‪@wiese2154.bsky.social‬

Sink Starlink!

22/30
‪jekolski.bsky.social‬ ‪@jekolski.bsky.social‬

This is a COUP! Call it what it is! The media is pooping their pants afraid to get sued. Get out and talk to your neighbors, your friends. Tell your US Reps and Senators that this has got to stop and if they can’t you will vote for someone who can!

23/30
‪Tim Wiese‬ ‪@wiese2154.bsky.social‬

Bury the Boring Company!

24/30
‪Tim Wiese‬ ‪@wiese2154.bsky.social‬

Torch Tesla!

25/30
‪babsi54.bsky.social‬ ‪@babsi54.bsky.social‬

All blue states need to stop sending their Federal Taxes because they help save the red states. Do it and see their reaction really quickly

26/30
‪kingfisher2025.bsky.social‬ ‪@kingfisher2025.bsky.social‬

It’s sad. But that’s what comes when the US leader is a convicted felon and leads a criminal enterprise.

27/30
‪Ellen0751‬ ‪@nelljr.bsky.social‬

So relevant today. I was a 16 y/o Brit. Really didn’t understand what was going on here in the U. S. This should be played all over so many great protest songs came out then. I’m now a 73y/o dual national. I’m ready to march. I canvassed for the Dems. Support Indivsable. Let’s go.

28/30
‪Leslie Sherman‬ ‪@lesliesherman.bsky.social‬

There’s a man with a gun over there…
Telling me I got to beware….

29/30
‪Leslie Sherman‬ ‪@lesliesherman.bsky.social‬

Someone else had already supplied that line

30/30
‪hahnyock.bsky.social‬ ‪@hahnyock.bsky.social‬

He asked what else to do. He’s doing it.

To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196

 

[CopiousX]

 

[trapnerd]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out seeing as how Tesla does not even sell that many cars compared to other manufacturers. . . Yet somehow Tesla is valued more than every other car maker combined. It’s ass backwards.

Maybe the market will realize that and their stock will tank…. Or maybe it won’t really matter and all the “Tesla is not a car company, it’s a tech company” folks will be proven true.

 

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European Tesla Sales Fall 45 Percent Thanks To Elon Musk - Jalopnik

Elon Musk's political meddling is driving down Tesla sales in Europe, and Aston Martin's CEO plans to turn the automaker around by cutting costs.

www.jalopnik.com

European Tesla Sales Fall 45 Percent Thanks To Elon Musk​

By Andy KalmowitzFeb. 25, 2025 10:14 am EST

Pool/Getty Images

Good morning! It's Tuesday, February 25, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're taking a look at how Elon Musk's political meddling is driving down Tesla sales in Europe, and how Aston Martin's CEO plans to turn the automaker around by cutting costs. We'll also talk about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration laying off a small-ish chunk of its workforce, and how Tesla launched a "city navigation" Autopilot update in China.

1st Gear: Elon Musk is costing Tesla sales in Europe​

Kittyfly/Shutterstock

Tesla's sales in Europe dropped an astonishing 45 percent in January as other automakers saw a surge in electric vehicle demand. The reason for this catastrophic drop is both unsurprising and simple: CEO Elon Musk and his political antics. Because of him, Tesla sold just 9,945 cars across Europe in January. That's down from 18,161 vehicles just a year ago. At the same time, overall EV sales rose 37 percent on the continent.

Tesla registered just 1,277 new vehicles in Germany last month. It's the Austin, Texas-based automaker's lowest monthly total since July of 2021. French sales fared even worse than most, dropping 63 percent to their lowest numbers since August of 2022. Yikes. Tesla also registered vehicle vehicles than China's BYD for the first time ever in the UK. Its sales dropped almost eight percent in a market that was otherwise up 42 percent in January.

Of course, a drop like this isn't entirely because of Musk. Tesla also had to switch over production lines for its most popular vehicle, the Model Y crossover. That means Tesla couldn't get any many Model Ys out the door as it usually would. Still, Musk's cozying up to far-right political leaders as well as being Donald Trump's biggest donor and one of his closest advisors, has hurt Tesla's reputation globally. From Bloomberg:

In addition to barraging leaders in Germany and the UK, Musk has joined Trump in disparaging Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy and disputing polls that have found the president maintains support of the country's people. In response to Trump's criticisms, Zelenskiy said last week the US president had fallen victim to Russian "disinformation."

[...]

YouGov conducted polls in Germany and the UK in mid-January that found Musk was viewed unfavorably and that his meddling in the countries' politics was unwelcome. The Tesla CEO hosted a live discussion with Alternative for Germany party leader Alice Weidel on his social media site X on Jan. 9 in an attempt to boost the anti-immigration, pro-Russian party that finished second in this week's election.

During a virtual appearance at an AfD rally later in January, Musk urged Germans to be proud of their culture and discouraged "too much focus on past guilt." The comments touched a nerve just before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

Musk also called for the imprisonment of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month while advocating for the release of jailed far-right activists.

Some of this nasty downturn for Tesla can be traced to issues the company is dealing with outside of Musk.

Tesla likely was dealing with shortages of inventory in some markets due to the all-out push the company made to boost sales late last year. Changing over assembly lines for the Model Y also may have had an effect on its January registrations.

Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja warned during last month's quarterly earnings call that the transition to a new design for the model first introduced in 2020 would cost the manufacturer several weeks of lost production. The company builds the Model Y at four plants globally, including at its factory outside Berlin.

The competition — led in Europe by Volkswagen AG, Stellantis NV and Renault SA — also is under greater regulatory pressure to sell more EVs in 2025. Manufacturers must meet stricter CO2 emissions targets in the European Union this year, while a steadily rising share of their sales need to be zero-emission in the UK through 2035.

It's too early to say how much of an issue Musk's rhetoric and insistence on being a b*stard will be for Tesla, but I feel it could end up having some real, long-term effects on people's perception of the automaker. None of that will be good, either.

2nd Gear: Cost cutting comes for Aston Martin​

Just dance/Shutterstock

Aston Martin is in a tough spot right now. At this point, it has struggled with profitability for years as its stock price continues to drop along with sales. Now, executive chairman Lawrence Stroll is letting CEO Adrian Hallmark take the reins in an attempt to turn around the embattled British automaker. Doing that will be no small feat, and it's going to involve production slashes and cost-cutting. From Bloomberg:

 

[bnew]

Hallmark wants to trim production to avoid wasting money making cars that sit unsold, people with knowledge of the company's plans said. The CEO has already said he wants to reduce Aston Martin's delivery target to around 8,000 vehicles per year, from Stroll's stated ambition of 10,000. This is all about boosting margins, as Hallmark flagged to analysts in October: "The bottom line — cash and profit — are what we're going to be obsessively focused on, not volume first."

The company will also try to fix perennial problems in its supply chain, the people said, explaining that Aston Martin has often picked cheap suppliers for parts who then fail to deliver on time, leaving the company paying more than expected to fix issues.

Aston Martin isn't planning to launch any new models in the near future — to save money on development costs — and will instead try to launch more derivatives of its existing models, something that Lamborghini, Porsche and Bentley have successfully done, the people said. At Bentley, Hallmark oversaw a strategy of offering customers the opportunity to customize their vehicles. In 2023, the last full year he was in charge, more than 70% of Bentley's cars were fitted out with add-ons like special trim.

Investors and analysts have remained remarkably bullish on Aston Martin. Stroll has on several occasions denied that the company needed more cash, only to then raise another round. The company would be cash-flow positive from the second half of 2024 "and forever," he told journalists at an event last April. It wasn't.

"The stock is being bitten and is going to continue being bitten until they can prove they can sustainably generate positive free cash flow," said Giacomo Reghelin, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "Until that happens, there is always the risk that they might need to turn to investors and raise more capital. And that's probably where the new CEO has to focus and set realistic expectations."

Stroll has said he's committed to Aston Martin for the long haul. But people familiar with the matter say that he is going against his instincts and letting Hallmark make the decisions. Gone are the weekly four-hour meetings with the CEO. In their place, a monthly meeting between the two and a couple of calls a week.

[/QUOTE]

Here's hoping Aston Martin can turn it around and return to its glory days of the early-to-mid-2000s. Perhaps I look back at that time with rose-tinted glasses since those are the cars I grew up with, but Aston Martins do always look great in red.

3rd Gear: NHTSA cuts four percent of its workforce​

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cut four percent of its staff as part of wider U.S. government downsizing efforts led by President Trump and his life partner Elon Musk. Of course, NHTSA has several pending investigations into Tesla, but I cannot imagine the layoffs are related. That would be wrong.

Luckily, NHTSA might be able to absorb these cuts more than most other government agencies. Under President Joe Biden, it grew by 30 percent to around 800 workers before the job cuts that took out 10 percent of NHTSA's staff last week. From Reuters:

"We have retained positions critical to the mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to road traffic crashes," NHTSA said, adding it "will continue to enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment."

Last week, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as the second highest ranking official at USDOT vowed the government will take a fair and objective approach to overseeing auto safety probes into Tesla.

NHTSA in October opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after four reported collisions, including a fatal 2023 crash, among other open safety probes.

In January, NHTSA opened a separate probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles over reports of crashes involving a feature that allows users to move their cars remotely.

Tesla in December 2023 recalled more than two million U.S. vehicles to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system. The agency is still investigating whether that recall is adequate to address concerns that drivers are not paying attention.

We can only hope that these are the end of the job cuts at NHTSA, an agency that does some extremely important work. However, it's impossible to say if that'll be the case, given the seemingly random nature of Musk's DOGE job cuts. Jesus Christ, that hurt to type out. We are living in the dumbest timeline imaginable.

4th Gear: New Tesla Autopilot feature falls short in China​

DELBO ANDREA/Shutterstock

Tesla just added a city navigation feature to its Autopilot driver assist software in China, but it already isn't living up to the hype for many owners who fell for CEO Elon Musk's lofty promises for the software. In a notification on Tesla's app, the Austin, Texas-based automaker said capabilities include automatic lane-changing depending on speed and route, the ability to detect traffic lights at intersections and decide whether to turn. It also said an in-car camera will monitor the driver's attention. It all sounds pretty good, but the features really aren't all they're cracked up to be in China, and it costs nearly $9,000. From Reuters:

The features are similar to those available with Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) but less advanced than what are available in the United States due to insufficient data training on Chinese roads and traffic rules, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

FSD is a suite of driving-assistance technologies developed with generative artificial intelligence to cope with more complicated traffic conditions whereas Autopilot handles more routine conditions.

Musk wants to bring full Autopilot and FSD systems to China but has said that the effort was proving to be tricky due to technology restrictions imposed by both the U.S. and Chinese governments. The company has postponed an initial goal of end-2024 to this year.

Several Chinese social media users said the update was a disappointment as it did not achieve the capabilities Tesla has advertised for years and said rival Chinese automakers were offering similar driver-assistance features at a lower price or for free.

Overpromising and underdelivering in China is nothing new for Tesla.

Lu Panpan, a Tesla car owner in China's eastern Zhejiang province, said he paid 56,000 yuan ($7,720) for FSD software when he bought his Long Range Model 3 in 2019 but has been frustrated by the lack of updates to its features.


"We can tell Tesla has no choice but to deliver a knowingly restricted system ... ," said Lu. "It is hard for Tesla to catch up with the smart-driving capabilities in Chinese cars, which even makes less sense given its high pricing."

This latest setback for Tesla means it's falling even further behind on self-driving tech in China, especially when compared to domestic automakers like Huawei, Xiaomi and BYD. Those companies have launched dozens of EVs with more advanced driver assistance software that are capable of navigating China's city streets.

 

[bnew]

Protest today (2/23) in front of the Cathedral City Tesla dealership

https://archive.is/RukIt

Spoiler: text

Spoiler: text

The crowds are getting bigger every day.

 

[bnew]

Tesla deliveries expected to go down to levels not seen in more than 2 years

Tesla deliveries are expected to decrease this quarter to levels not seen in more than two years. We have to...

electrek.co

Tesla deliveries expected to go down to levels not seen in more than 2 years​

Fred Lambert | Feb 21 2025 - 7:22 am PT



364 Comments

Tesla deliveries are expected to decrease this quarter to levels not seen in more than two years. We have to go back to 2022 to see the delivery volume the automaker is expected to deliver.

Time to worry for Tesla shareholders?

Prediction markets are entering the game of setting expectations for Tesla’s quarterly deliveries.

These markets use financial incentives, similar to betting, to predict specific outcomes. They became extremely popular during the latest US elections and have since expanded to predict a lot more outcomes ranging from sports to business to virtually anything.

Kalshi, one of the biggest prediction markets, has been running markets to predict Tesla’s quarterly deliveries that already gathered half a million in volumes.

It currently predicts that Tesla will deliver 359,000 vehicles in Q1 2025:

This would be down 7% year-over-year and a massive 27% down quarter-over-quarter.

In fact, you have to go back more than two years, Q3 2022, to get a quarter when Tesla delivered fewer vehicles than what is expected this quarter:

As we previously reported, Tesla’s sales are crashing in Europe this quarter – down by as much as 50%.

In China, Tesla’s most important market, sales are down slightly year-over-year.

The US is the most opaque market, and it will be the difference maker this quarter.

Electrek’s Take​

Top comment by​

Liked by 34 people

The Model Y changeover cannot last forever, and there are many deadlines coming up in 2025 for Tesla, from the Robotaxi to a more affordable Tesla model, from the "thousands" Optimus that are due to perform tasks in Tesla's factories by the end of this year, to the unsupervised self-driving software available as a paid service in select markets starting in June.

It's not a matter of if, but of when the chickens will come home to roost.

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This quarter would finally be the time to prove to Tesla shareholders that Elon is bad for Tesla. Unfortunately, they will blame the poor performance on the Model Y changeover, which will definitely impact Tesla negatively, but nowhere near that level.

I think it’s clear that the Elon effect is also working its magic here.

We know it since it’s not the first time Tesla has done a changeover. Now, it’s true that it’s the first time for a Model Y, which is Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, but the impact is more significant than when Tesla had factory shutdowns and supply chain issues last year.

The earnings are going to be even worse, but they will blame that on the new Model Y too.

 

[bnew]

Outside Van Ness Tesla

https://archive.is/pJUOD

Spoiler: text

 

[KillerPups]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out seeing as how Tesla does not even sell that many cars compared to other manufacturers. . . Yet somehow Tesla is valued more than every other car maker combined. It’s ass backwards.

Maybe the market will realize that and their stock will tank…. Or maybe it won’t really matter and all the “Tesla is not a car company, it’s a tech company” folks will be proven true.

tesla is a meme stock

 

[bnew]

TikTokers Are ‘Hunting’ Tesla Cybertrucks to Project Anti-Musk Messages on the Tailgate

Spoiler: text

 

[bnew]

Elon Musk-Led Tesla's Supercharger Vandalized With Nazi Symbols, EV Giant Says It 'Will Press Charges' - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tesla is facing escalating brand challenges as vandals targeted a Supercharger station with Nazi symbols and hate speech.

www.benzinga.com

February 24, 2025 1:46 AM 2 min read

Elon Musk-Led Tesla's Supercharger Vandalized With Nazi Symbols, EV Giant Says It 'Will Press Charges'​

by Kaustubh Bagalkote

Tesla Inc.

TSLA+1.64%

is facing escalating brand challenges as vandals targeted a Supercharger station with Nazi symbols and hate speech, the latest in a series of incidents reflecting growing public hostility toward the electric vehicle maker.

What Happened: The vandalism, reported on Sunday by tech YouTuber Quinn Nelson, prompted Tesla’s charging division to announce immediate removal plans and pledge to pursue charges against perpetrators. “We will press charges for vandalism at Superchargers,” Tesla wrote.

This incident follows similar attacks, including vandalism at a Massachusetts charging station and a Cybertruck being damaged in Brooklyn.

The backlash comes amid controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk‘s role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump‘s administration, where his aggressive agency restructuring and federal worker terminations have drawn criticism from constitutional experts.

We will press charges for vandalism at Superchargers





Why It Matters: Notable Tesla investor Ross Gerber highlighted the brand damage, announcing plans to sell his Cybertruck after encountering anti-Musk graffiti. “The Tesla brand is broken,” Gerber posted on X.

The company faces mounting challenges across markets. Last week protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms nationwide, with demonstrations in New York, Seattle, and California drawing up to 100 people. Singer Sheryl Crow publicly documented selling her Tesla Saturday, citing concerns about Musk’s political alignment.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives maintains a bullish $550 price target despite these challenges, arguing that brand concerns are “bark way worse than the bite.” However, Tesla reported its first annual sales decline in 2024, and German sales dropped 60% year-over-year in January following Musk’s support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.

 

[peppe]

in the grand schemes of things this will have zero effect. Still the richest person in the world. If his investment in trump pays off he will have won big time.

 

[bnew]

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/tesla-market-cap-falls-below-160131032.html

Tesla market cap falls below $1T on Europe sales, Musk's politics​

Seana Smith and Madison Mills

Tue, February 25, 2025 at 11:01 AM EST

In This Article:​

TSLA
-8.39%

Tesla (TSLA) shares are under pressure after European sales hit a two-year low sending the electric vehicle (EV) pioneer's market capitalization below the $1 trillion mark. The stock's decline is one of the leading laggards dragging the "Magnificent Seven" into correction territory.

The drop in European sales comes amid increased competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD (1211.HK, BYDDY) and as CEO Elon Musk dives into his divisive political career as the head of US President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Watch the video above to hear Catalysts hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills report more on this.

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.

This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.