Expert calls Musk’s ‘Doge’ involvement ‘one of the greatest brand destructions’
Top US marketing professor Scott Galloway says on Pivot podcast Tesla owner ‘has alienated his core demographic’
Scott Galloway, a prominent American marketing professor, claims that Elon Musk’s decision to implement severe job and spending cuts in the federal government on behalf of the Trump administration was “one of the greatest brand destructions” of all time.
Speaking on Friday’s episode of the popular podcast “Pivot,” which he co-hosts, Galloway said Trump’s billionaire business advisor had alienated customers of his electric car maker Tesla—one of his most important businesses—while aligning himself with a president whose allies don’t care about the type of cars the company makes.
Galloway then cited polls indicating that Tesla’s ranking had fallen from the eighth most popular brand in 2021 to 95th.
“He alienated the wrong people,” Galloway commented. “Three-quarters of Republicans would never consider buying an electric car. So he’s courting those who aren’t interested in electric cars.”
Galloway also presented figures showing Tesla sales were down 59% in France, 81% in Sweden, 74% in the Netherlands, 66% in Denmark, 50% in Switzerland, and 33% in Portugal.
In recent months, Musk has sought to interfere in various European political affairs, including the German federal elections and the UK’s conflict over smuggling gangs, particularly on his social media platform X.
After his intervention in the lucrative European electric vehicle market alarmed many, Chinese rival BYD overtook the Austin-based company on the continent for the first time in April, according to a report by Jato Dynamics, an automotive industry intelligence firm.
“It was arguably one of the biggest brand destructions,” Galloway told his co-host, veteran technology journalist Kara Swisher. “Tesla was a great brand.”
He alienated his core demographic.
The job and federal spending cuts attributed to Musk stem from his involvement in leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOG) during Trump’s second US presidency, which began in January. Musk secured the position after his super PAC donated $200 million to Trump’s successful November campaign, leading to his return to the White House after losing the 2020 presidential election.
Polls have since indicated strong dissatisfaction with Musk’s work for Trump, including some that showed a majority of voters disliked the businessman’s and Doug’s treatment of federal government employees in particular, especially as the department cuts jobs.
In late April, Tesla reported a 71% drop in profits, and during a call with Tesla investors to discuss the earnings, Musk said he would begin leaving his position at Dodge in May.
Musk added that his work “getting the government’s finances in order is almost complete” and that “Doug’s time will be significantly reduced.”
In late April, the nonpartisan research group Partnership for Public Service estimated that about $160 billion of the cuts promoted by Doug were on track to cost about $135 billion.
