"For years, Musk got away with treating his workers poorly, opposing their efforts at unionization, failing to improve vehicle build quality, and not delivering on promises like fully realized self-driving software, solar roof tiles, or battery-swap stations. The narrative that he was build the future was just too strong and attractive for the media and political figures to give up on. But that seems to finally have changed — and Tesla is feeling the consequences first because it’s most exposed to consumer pressure.
In the past, boycotting Tesla could have been framed as an effort not to address climate change or electrify transportation. Musk himself used to say that criticism of Tesla was funded by the fossil fuel lobby. But these days Musk calls for oil production to increase and downplays the threat of climate change, and drivers who want nothing to do with him or his company have plenty of other electric vehicles to choose from if they want to make that decision.
Tesla is not just vulnerable to public pressure, it’s also a vulnerability for Musk’s ability to continue wielding his power and wealth as he sees fit. As Niedermeyer has explained, a lot of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla and he’s used Tesla stock as collateral for loans to fund his life and his ownership of Twitter/X. As Tesla falls, Musk’s position gets more and more vulnerable.
Let Tesla fall, and take Musk along with it."
https://www.disconnect.blog/p/elon-musk-is-running-tesla-into-the