(DRI) TESLA'S BRAND CRISIS

One of the leading investors and supporters of Tesla has said that the EV giant faces a “moment of truth”, and has suggested that CEO Elon Musk may have to step down because of the time he spends on his right wing political campaigns, and the controversy that creates.

“It has turned into a brand crisis, a brand crisis tornado,” says Dan Ives, the head of Wedbush Securities, and one of the most bullish investors in Tesla. He still has a buy rating on the company, and a price target of $US550, two and a half times higher than its current price.

“A few weeks ago it felt contained,” Ives says. “Now it has turned into a brand crisis, a brand crisis tornado. The future of Tesla will really be determined by how Musk handles the next few months, it is that much of a white knuckle moment.”

The comments by Ives are significant, because many Tesla fans and shareholders have pushed back against the media for chronicling the slump in car sales and the share price, blaming some sort of conspiracy against the company. They say there should be no connection between Musk’s political views and the brand and its products, which are widely admired.

But the comments by Ives show that it does matter. Ives and other analysts from UBS, Morgan Stanley, Baird, and JP Morgan have all downgraded their sales forecasts because of the consumer backlash against Musk’s actions, and are now saying this is a problem that needs to be owned by Musk himself, rather than deflected back to the media.

There are two major issues – the amount of time that Musk is spending on his political campaigns, and not on Tesla and his other business interests, and the response to his far right political tropes, along with his attacks on government agencies, institutions, the justice system, and the media. More of this article (The Driven) - link - more like this (Tesla) - link - more like this (America) - link