Study: Tesla's Range, Performance, Styling Attract Buyers, Musk Detracts

[MEDICALJMP]

Study: Tesla's Range, Performance, Styling Attract Buyers, Musk Detracts
By Steve Loveday
March 12, 2021

A new study suggests some people think Tesla would be better off without vocal CEO Elon Musk.

When you think of Tesla, you almost certainly think of CEO Elon Musk. Is that a good thing? According to a recent study, it may not be, but there are important details to consider. Analytics firm Escalent surveyed car shoppers and asked what attracts them to Tesla, as well as what may make them steer clear.

As expected, buyers are looking at range, performance and acceleration, styling, and build quality. They're also excited about the fact that Tesla's cars are "new and different." Based on this list, if we asked you what might be the biggest detractor, we bet you'd guess build quality. However, that's not the case. Instead, survey respondents chose Elon Musk as the biggest detractor.

People see the whole Tesla and Elon Musk situation as sort of a cult due to hardcore fans on social media. They seem to love Musk and follow his every word and move. With that said, some people looking in from the outside see it all differently. They may be interested in buying a Tesla, but reportedly, Musk rubs them the wrong way. Escalent writes:

"Among the top detractors? Elon Musk. Further, Musk is the most negative aspect of the Tesla brand among both Tesla owners and other EV owners, ranking above EV driving range, purchase price, build quality and Supercharger availability. Even among non-EV owners, Musk ranks just behind range and purchase price."

It's important to note that this was just based on a group of 1,000 people. The study surveyed 100 current Tesla owners, 100 non-Tesla EV owners, and 803 gas-car drivers.

We have no idea how much most of these folks know about Tesla and Musk. They could be lovers or haters. They could follow Musk religiously, or they could just catch glimpses of primarily negative media reports.

Regardless of the above, if there are actually people out there who think Tesla would be better off without Musk, it's worth reporting and discussing.


https://insideevs.com/news/493986/tesla-range-performance-styling-attract-buyers-musk-no/

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I can attest to this with one guy I work with. His recultance to buy the Cybertruck, even though he really likes it, is his belief that Tesla will have problems with Musk at the helm and believes the company will falter. (That and he is afraid of what the country-folk truck drivers will think about that fancy-assed spaceship on wheels.)

 

[Crissa]

Yeah, I was talking to a friend and watching the NASA stream of the Starship test and the friend said, bluntly, 'don't talk to me about Musk stuff!'

...I was watching NASA?

-Crissa

 

[LoPro]

I’ll be honest and say the cult of personality around the Steve Jobs on meth at the wheel of my favorite car company is getting really old. I don’t think he’ll run it into the ground though.

 

[Frankenblob]

Interesting I never looked at Elon as being "all that and then some". He doesn't irk nor captivate me.

I view Tesla as a company that has good engineers, designers and workers and THAT is what intrigues me.

I did however find it strange that on battery day he paraded out a bunch of people, who appeared "20 feet from stardom" yet never let or offered them a chance to speak, tho they had microphones.

Goooooooo Tesla!

 

[Crissa]

I did however find it strange that on battery day he paraded out a bunch of people, who appeared "20 feet from stardom" yet never let or offered them a chance to speak, tho they had microphones.

The last thing you want to do, as an engineer, is public speaking. Making them talk might have been even more abusive. Tho to the audience or them, I'm not sure.

-Crissa

 

[RonM]

Sounds like a HIT JOB to me.

 

[FutureBoy]

I did however find it strange that on battery day he paraded out a bunch of people, who appeared "20 feet from stardom" yet never let or offered them a chance to speak, tho they had microphones.

I'm no expert on the mind of Elon. But what I saw happening on battery day was that Elon was giving his top crew opportunities to grow and get more experience. There were a few of them that spoke up on their own. There were a few that he called on specifically. But many of the questions were either answered by Elon or Elon would add more detail after someone else gave part of an answer.

I've been in situations like that (not in public but within a company situation) where I've been given opportunities to speak for the group but had a boss who had an overwhelming level of interest and knowledge so even though I would say something it was never quite the end-all-be-all. So the boss would always give a follow-up.

Not to say that Elon was doing something good or bad. For many people asking questions, the answer that they really seem to want is Elon's answer. So while it is a good experience for the team, many people seem to wait for Elon to speak before they are going to be satisfied.

 

[DMC-81]

I'm no expert on the mind of Elon. But what I saw happening on battery day was that Elon was giving his top crew opportunities to grow and get more experience. There were a few of them that spoke up on their own. There were a few that he called on specifically. But many of the questions were either answered by Elon or Elon would add more detail after someone else gave part of an answer.

I've been in situations like that (not in public but within a company situation) where I've been given opportunities to speak for the group but had a boss who had an overwhelming level of interest and knowledge so even though I would say something it was never quite the end-all-be-all. So the boss would always give a follow-up.

Not to say that Elon was doing something good or bad. For many people asking questions, the answer that they really seem to want is Elon's answer. So while it is a good experience for the team, many people seem to wait for Elon to speak before they are going to be satisfied.

Well said. That was my take too.

As far as Tesla and Musk are concerned, (coming from a non-Tesla customer and a non-BEV owner), I saw Tesla as the head and shoulders leader in BEV. Now that the tipping point is upon us, competition is on the horizon and approaching fast. That is a good thing.

Coming in to the reservation holder queue, I saw a cult following around Musk, and there still is, but after listening to him talk a few times, I realized he has a depth of knowledge around the technology and processes that far exceeds the typical MBA-in-a-suit CEO that's just presenting talking points. You can see he has intelligence and passion for all this. Yes he's at the Steve Jobs level of CEO fame, but I don't see that as a detractor.

What would be a detractor is Tesla installing a typical run of the mill CEO that makes short sighted decisions primarily to " make the quarter", and/or to make moves that are a half assed response to what their competition is doing.

Exhibit A: GM with their crab walking, $100k+, big-SUV-hastily-converted-to-a-truck?, resurrected and reformed gas guzzling poster child. I think history will treat this monstrosity as an answer to a question nobody asked.

I say this as an owner of 2 GM vehicles.