> Musk’s increasingly controversial political actions have alienated the core of Tesla’s original customer base: environmentally conscious, liberal-leaning buyers.
Is that really the majority of purchases in the US. I honestly don't see how the Cybertruck ever leaned into that. Here in the UK the "average Tesla driver" is someone who moved from their Audi because they found something that was slightly more exclusive. Same sort of person who fails to signal and generally drives like an ass.
That killed a lot of desire from people I know for purchasing one prior to Musk going far off the rails.
I honestly don't see how the Cybertruck ever leaned into that.
It didn't --- and sales never really took off either.
But a big factor is the cartoonish, post-apocalyptic design that simply isn't very practical on a daily basis. Just maneuvering it into a parking spot or getting your tool box out of the bed is a pain.
The Cybertruck was designed by a committee of one --- Elon Musk. It is his baby, apparently created without any significant input from market research. For a consumer facing product, this was a huge blunder --- but not the only one --- and the results speak for themselves.
It takes a special form of arrogance to ignore the long history of progressive marketplace refinement and cater to the opinion of a person who has no real history or experience with the product.
...found something that was slightly more exclusive.
The only thing really "exclusive" about a Tesla is the fact that it is electric and costs more than it should --- along with some quirky, dysfunctional design thrown in for good measure (a Tesla trademark --- touch screen controls/dash, electric door locks that fail in an accident, FSD that isn't).
Down where the rubber meets the road, this tends to wear a little thin over time --- at least on this side of the pond.
This business genius has really worked hard to devalue his own brand. One of the worst self inflicted blunders in recent memory --- combined with his failure to deliver promised government cost reductions.
This phrase is used a lot online.
> Musk’s increasingly controversial political actions have alienated the core of Tesla’s original customer base: environmentally conscious, liberal-leaning buyers.
Is that really the majority of purchases in the US. I honestly don't see how the Cybertruck ever leaned into that. Here in the UK the "average Tesla driver" is someone who moved from their Audi because they found something that was slightly more exclusive. Same sort of person who fails to signal and generally drives like an ass.
That killed a lot of desire from people I know for purchasing one prior to Musk going far off the rails.
I honestly don't see how the Cybertruck ever leaned into that.
It didn't --- and sales never really took off either.
But a big factor is the cartoonish, post-apocalyptic design that simply isn't very practical on a daily basis. Just maneuvering it into a parking spot or getting your tool box out of the bed is a pain.
The Cybertruck was designed by a committee of one --- Elon Musk. It is his baby, apparently created without any significant input from market research. For a consumer facing product, this was a huge blunder --- but not the only one --- and the results speak for themselves.
It takes a special form of arrogance to ignore the long history of progressive marketplace refinement and cater to the opinion of a person who has no real history or experience with the product.
...found something that was slightly more exclusive.
The only thing really "exclusive" about a Tesla is the fact that it is electric and costs more than it should --- along with some quirky, dysfunctional design thrown in for good measure (a Tesla trademark --- touch screen controls/dash, electric door locks that fail in an accident, FSD that isn't).
Down where the rubber meets the road, this tends to wear a little thin over time --- at least on this side of the pond.
> The only thing really "exclusive" about a Tesla is the fact it ... costs more than it should
Sorry, that was what I meant by "exclusive".
This business genius has really worked hard to devalue his own brand. One of the worst self inflicted blunders in recent memory --- combined with his failure to deliver promised government cost reductions.