Tesla cars set on fire, car showroom blockades – that’s at the extreme end of the spectrum of protest aimed at Elon Musk. But the financially more sinister problem for the world’s richest man is that the protest has become mainstream.

Would-be customers are walking away from the Tesla brand. It has lost its synchronicity with the well-heeled progressives for whom buying a Tesla represented a statement about saving the planet. There is even a Tesla bumper sticker getting currency around the world that reads “I bought this before Elon went crazy”.

For years, the progressive community was Musk’s core customer base. But many no longer feel Tesla aligns with their values or their politics.

It’s a price the world’s richest man is seemingly willing to pay for hitching his wagon to US President Donald Trump’s policies. Musk’s own behaviour is effectively rebranding Tesla, given it was created in his own likeness. And in doing so, he is burning his own cash cow.

Commercially, Musk appears to be kicking a series of own-goals, and the company’s share price reflects this clearly. Since the start of the calendar year, Tesla stock has fallen more than 41 per cent, wiping out the euphoric gains it made in the months after Trump was elected.

Tesla has been harder hit than the broader market, which has also been in freefall over the past couple of weeks, as Trump’s promises that he would make the US economy great again have given way to fears of a possible recession. And even if a recession is avoided, Trump’s fixation with tariffs will almost certainly leave the US consumer tackling higher prices at home.

The prospect of either outcome was responsible for a violent sell-off in the US stockmarket on Monday (US time) and a massive decline in Australian shares on Tuesday.

Trump’s garbled messages and erratic policies will undoubtedly hurt the hordes of voters who backed his return to the White House, but make no mistake: Australian superannuation balances aren’t immune to the tariff-induced chaos.

Musk is right in the middle of this double-barrel onslaught. Even one of Tesla’s greatest supporters, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, concedes: “The protests at Tesla dealers over the weekend, violence seen at Tesla drivers around the country/Europe, and more Musk-related brand worries and distractions related to DOGE/Trump administration have been an albatross over Tesla’s stock with a horrific 2025 so far.”

It is difficult to avoid the reality that Musk’s allegiance to Trump, his radical and enthusiastic moves to blow up US government spending (and the trail of damaged lives this has produced), plus his outspoken and extreme opinions on US and European politics – most notably his support for far-right German party AfD – have horrified swathes of the international community.

We are witnessing a worldwide backlash against Musk and Tesla, in the US, Europe, China and even Australia, where sales of new Teslas fell 72 per cent in February compared with last year.

Tesla is planning to release its latest model, and some buyers may be holding off their purchases for that reason, but that doesn’t fully account for why fewer Teslas are hitting the roads.

Sales of Tesla cars in Germany, Europe’s largest market for electric vehicles, dove 76 per cent in February compared with a year earlier, the German Association of the Automotive Industry said. Demand for Tesla’s cars in France dropped more than 26 per cent in February compared with a year ago, according to the PFA car organisation.

In Norway, which is close to ending sales of petrol engine cars this year, Tesla sales fell in January and nearly halved in February from a year earlier, according to the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council. It had previously accounted for one in five cars sold but now accounts for less than one in 10.

While sales of Tesla in the UK were in positive territory, the brand still lost market share. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported this week that Tesla’s shipments from China fell 49 per cent in February, according to media reports. But Tesla is facing fierce competition in that market from Chinese producers, most notably BYD, which are gaining market share.

For now, none of this appears to have dented Musk’s enthusiasm towards Trump and his policies. Although Tesla’s shareholders and loyal fan base are having second thoughts. Perhaps there is money to be made in additional bumper sticker slogans – perhaps Make Elon Enlightened Again.

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