QOTD: Is Elon Musk's Twitter Behavior Affecting Your Perception of Tesla?
I've been following the Elon Musk Twitter drama relatively closely. In part because I use Twitter on a personal level, in part because TTAC has an official account, in part because of Musk's connection to this industry, and in part because I care about misinformation/disinformation.
One thing I've noticed, at least anecdotally, is that some Twitter users are saying that a combination of Musk's individual tweeting and his management of the company are working together to paint his car brand in a bad light. I've even seen articles to that effect.
So, is that the case? Have you seen Tesla in a more negative light because of what's going on with Musk's stewardship of Twitter? Or does it not matter?
I see a few options here: You already didn't like how Musk ran Tesla (from quality issues to racism at plants to his dangerous takes on Covid to union busting, Musk has been quite controversial over the years), you compartmentalize what he does at Twitter from what he does at Tesla, you like Musk and/or what he's doing at Twitter, or you just don't care.
Sound off below.
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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*shrug* he fires the people who fight pedophiles and hate science ... sounds like he's home
Except for the very well-developed charging system, nothing impresses me about Tesla, especially the build quality of their cars. 1980s-GM build quality. Anyone else who have been hooted off stage by now.
It hasn't changed my perception of Tesla - they're still not for me - but it's changed my perception of Musk.
It's the smug obligatory brand ambassadors driving these vehicles that are still a major put-off from Tesla.