Germany’s Rossmann, one of Europe’s largest drugstore chains, will not purchase any more Tesla vehicles for its fleet with immediate effect, the firm has announced. The decision “is based on the incompatibility between Tesla CEO Elon Musk's statements and the values Tesla represents with its products”, the firm says.
"Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax — this attitude is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars," says Raoul Rossmann on behalf of his form’s management.
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Rossman will continue to use its current stock of Tesla vehicles “for reasons of sustainability and resource conservation”. But the company “will rely on alternative manufacturers and models for future vehicle orders”.
Musk’s increasingly vocal support for right-wing political views on his social platform X, formerly called Twitter, as well as allowing previously banned Far Right accounts on the social network to rejoin, has been increasingly alienating private buyers of Tesla vehicles, who tend more towards progressive views. This has been a factor — alongside an ageing model line-up and increasingly competitive offerings from Tesla’s rivals — in why the firm’s sales have been falling even in markets where BEV penetration has continued to grow this year.
But, in several European countries, BEV adoption has been driven by commercial fleets and company car schemes switching to all-electric. Just as X was damaged by corporate advertising fleeing the site after Musk oversaw its lurch to the right, Tesla risked being materially damaged if companies decide to shun it en masse.
Racist
EV inFocus is a UK-based publication. At present, its home country is being wracked by disgraceful scenes of racist mobs destroying properties and attacking targets based on perceived association with immigrants.
Not only has misinformation and incitement to violence spread on platforms like X helped to spur on this disorder, Musk has also let himself down badly by being seen to side with this racist mob in his X postings. We can safely say, from London, that Tesla is a brand hugely tarnished in the UK over recent days owing to Musk’s actions.
Peter boasts 20+ years’ experience in energy/commodity journalism & analysis.
He is convinced the next few decades will be all about energy transition. Insider Focus is a front-row seat for the ride.
