Large Company Says It Won't Purchase Any More Teslas Due to Elon Musk's Erratic Behavior

It didn't mince words.

Major L

Tesla has just lost a big corporate customer — and there's no two ways about it that Elon Musk is to blame.

On Wednesday, the German drugstore chain Rossman — one of the largest in Europe — said that it will no longer be buying Tesla cars for its fleet, citing the automaker's CEO as the reason why.

It did so with a spectacular lack of the usual corporate decorum by not only calling out Musk by name, but by trying to drive a wedge between him and his company. In a press release, Rossmann stated that the decision was based on the "incompatibility" between Musk's statements and the values that Tesla is supposed to represent.

"Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump," said CEO Raoul Rossmann, son of the company's founder, as quoted by Reuters. "Trump has repeatedly described climate change as a hoax — this attitude is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars."

Sending a Message

For now, Rossmann said that it will continue to use the Teslas that it already owns for "reasons of sustainability and resource conservation."

The breakup doesn't represent an enormous loss for Tesla. Rossman currently owns 34 of its cars in its total fleet of 800, and buys around 180 new cars a year, according to a company spokesperson, per Bloomberg.

But Rossman is a huge company, with around 62,000 employees and over 4,700 branches — so even if this loss is mostly symbolic, it's a rude reminder that Tesla's isn't completely insulated from what Musk impulsively says online or in public. For better or for worse, he's an essential part of the company's image, which is why shareholders were willing to approve his ludicrous $56 billion pay package last month, even amidst faltering sales.

And had Musk stuck to his word, this latest fallout with Rossmann could've all been avoided. In March, he promised not to support either presidential candidate. But following the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Musk enthusiastically tweeted his endorsement for the Republican former president, whose VP pick, JD Vance, is staunchly anti-EV.

Musk's behavior has affected his other companies, too. His takeover of X, formerly Twitter, saw advertisers flee as he continued to openly espouse far right views on the platform. He later told those advertisers "to go fuck themselves." Rossmann, now, may be simply returning the favor.

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