Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Monday hit back against concerns that his political activism has negatively affected the Tesla brand.
Product >> Brand
Quoting a post by user James Stephenson on X, who hailed the Tesla Model Y’s position as the best-selling EV across multiple markets, Musk seemingly reaffirmed the EV giant’s position in the global market. “Product >> Brand,” Musk said in the post.
The Model Y has repeatedly topped sales charts, with the crossover SUV emerging as the best-selling car globally in 2023, 2024 and 2025, as well as being the best-selling EV in the U.S. and in California during the first quarter of 2026.
Tesla Brand Damage
Concerns about damage to Tesla’s brand have been shared by experts following Musk’s political activism and his close associations with the President Donald Trump administration.
Musk was instrumental in Trump’s re-election bid, donating over $250 million to the campaign in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential election. However, he has also received widespread criticism over his ties to right-wing politics.
Investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki, one of the earlier backers of the EV giant and now a vocal critic of the brand, earlier shared that the brand is “permanently damaged,” while investor Cathie Wood, who is the CEO of Ark Invest, acknowledged that the brand had been negatively impacted last year.
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Tesla scores well on the Growth and Quality metric, while also providing a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term.
Price Action: Tesla shares were down 0.55% at $423.67 during the after-hours session on Friday.
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