--- title: "Elon Musk Responds to Concerns That His Political Antics Are Tanking Tesla Sales" description: "Elon Musk insists that Tesla's sales have not been impacted by his support of Donald Trump — and we have the receipts proving he's wrong." date: "2024-10-23" modified: "2024-10-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-responds-politics-tesla-sales" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Responds to Concerns That His Political Antics Are Tanking Tesla Sales ![Elon Musk insists that Tesla's sales have not been impacted by his support of Donald Trump — and we have the receipts proving he's wrong.]() *\Image: Michael Swensen via Getty\* ## Not Owned During a recent conversation, Donald Trump's most well-known fanboy scoffed at the idea that Tesla's sales have taken a hit due to his politicking. "Tesla’s sales are actually doing great," Elon Musk said during an X Spaces audio chat last weekend, [per *Electrek*](). "We’re hitting all-time highs." That assessment doesn't exactly jibe with reality — though in [Muskworld](), [little does](). While the beginning of October did bring in some [reported sales growth]() for the 53-year-old billionaire's electric vehicle company, it likely isn't enough to undo its [two-quarter plummet]() from earlier in 2024. With an [8.5 percent sales decrease in Q1]() and a [five percent drop in Q2](), Tesla's nosediving sales have been blamed on everything from [more competition in the EV field]() to the [poor performance]() of the long-awaited Cybertrucks, which began being delivered at the end of last year — but perhaps nothing so much as its CEO's [hyper-public descent]() into racism and conspiracy theories. ## Apolitical Continuing his diatribe on the site formerly known as Twitter, the multi-hyphenate CEO erroneously suggested that people who buy EVs don't care about politics. "I think people really care about the quality of the product as opposed to whether they agree or disagree with the CEO’s views," Musk said. "The CEO of any given company is going to have political views." That, again, is not backed up by numbers. As *[Futurism]()* and [other]() [outlets]() have [reported]() throughout 2024, Musk going all-in for Trump and various toxic culture war topics has massively turned off Tesla buyers both in the United States and [across the pond](). That trend makes sense given that the act of purchasing an electric car has long been politicized by [oil companies who pay politicians]() — [primarily Republicans](), though there are [choice Democrats]() in their rosters as well — to [sabotage the EV industry](). With his [increasing conservatism]() at odds with the [liberal environmentalism]() that's practically synonymous with EV ownership, Musk has spent much of this presidential election season [antagonizing his core buyers]() — but to his mind, that's a non-issue. "At the end of the day what matters is if Tesla makes a great product," he told his X Space audience, "and people like buying great products." That assertion also isn't at all [backed up by fact]() — but at this point, we aren't expecting Musk to tell the truth. **More on Tesla:** [*Producers of "Blade Runner 2049" Sue Elon Musk for Dragging Their Movie Into Tesla's Disastrous Robotaxi Event*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()