4 ms·

Tesla had a good brand image in the early 2010, they could have positioned themselves like the quality/luxury brand for EV and have people buy Tesla for the bra

Tesla had a good brand image in the early 2010, they could have positioned themselves like the quality/luxury brand for EV and have people buy Tesla for the brand itself like people do for Apple. Instead they let Elon made their brand so toxic people are actively avoiding it.

ghaff 9mo ago
I'm skeptical. If someone really wants a Tesla, my guess is that they'll rationalize Musk's actions or least compartmentalize them.
- sejje 9mo ago
  I think Facebook is even more universally thought of as a bad company, and everyone still engages there, too.
  - estearum 9mo ago
    Difference is their product is so good as to be basically irreplaceable (good = strong network effects, which is the only flavor of "good" that matters)
  - bluGill 9mo ago
    Facebook as a monopoly of a sort and so is hard to get away from. If I don't like Tesla there are many other options. Even if you only buy EVs, there are a lot of options that you can buy today. The only people who have to buy Tesla are the type who are buying 10 year old EVs (the limited range on 10 year old Nissan rules them out).
    - ghaff 9mo ago
      Well, lots of people don't use Facebook. But you're right that there aren't any real like for like replacements. Of course, Twitter was a quasi-monopoly as well. That said, Bluesky emerged but only as an alternative with much less critical mass.
  - HWR_14 9mo ago
    There are network effects to social networks that do not apply to choice of vehicle
- bluGill 9mo ago
  That was 10-15 years ago, but back then Musk appeared different, and Telsa was new. Today you can buy a Tesla, they are no longer the status symbol they once were. A 15 year old Mercedes is a status symbol in the US, a 15 year old Tesla is not, Tesla didn't capture the status symbol market (which might have been a good decision - what wasn't a good decision was for the CEO to go public about political views that are lot of his potential base to not support)
  - kevin_thibedeau 9mo ago
    A 15 year old Mercedes is a falling apart PoS maintenance nightmare driven by someone with a lack of common sense.
    - overfeed 9mo ago
      They still look like luxury, though. Here's a 2011 entry-level Mercedes https://www.edmunds.com/assets/m/for-sale/38-wddgf8bb5br153309/img-1-600x400.jpg https://www.edmunds.com/assets/m/for-sale/38-wddgf8bb5br1533...
- estearum 9mo ago
  No, it's the reverse. Someone who finds Musk's behavior so abhorrent they fear being affiliated with it will actually find reasons they don't really want a Tesla. It doesn't help that Tesla, making extremely low quality and uncomfortable cars for the price point, provides plenty of dislikable things to find.
sejje 9mo ago
Some people. Others are actively embracing it. Most people don't know about the political aspect.

ghaff 9mo ago

I'm skeptical. If someone really wants a Tesla, my guess is that they'll rationalize Musk's actions or least compartmentalize them.

sejje 9mo ago
I think Facebook is even more universally thought of as a bad company, and everyone still engages there, too.
- estearum 9mo ago
  Difference is their product is so good as to be basically irreplaceable (good = strong network effects, which is the only flavor of "good" that matters)
- bluGill 9mo ago
  Facebook as a monopoly of a sort and so is hard to get away from. If I don't like Tesla there are many other options. Even if you only buy EVs, there are a lot of options that you can buy today. The only people who have to buy Tesla are the type who are buying 10 year old EVs (the limited range on 10 year old Nissan rules them out).
  - ghaff 9mo ago
    Well, lots of people don't use Facebook. But you're right that there aren't any real like for like replacements. Of course, Twitter was a quasi-monopoly as well. That said, Bluesky emerged but only as an alternative with much less critical mass.
- HWR_14 9mo ago
  There are network effects to social networks that do not apply to choice of vehicle
bluGill 9mo ago
That was 10-15 years ago, but back then Musk appeared different, and Telsa was new. Today you can buy a Tesla, they are no longer the status symbol they once were. A 15 year old Mercedes is a status symbol in the US, a 15 year old Tesla is not, Tesla didn't capture the status symbol market (which might have been a good decision - what wasn't a good decision was for the CEO to go public about political views that are lot of his potential base to not support)
- kevin_thibedeau 9mo ago
  A 15 year old Mercedes is a falling apart PoS maintenance nightmare driven by someone with a lack of common sense.
  - overfeed 9mo ago
    They still look like luxury, though. Here's a 2011 entry-level Mercedes https://www.edmunds.com/assets/m/for-sale/38-wddgf8bb5br153309/img-1-600x400.jpg https://www.edmunds.com/assets/m/for-sale/38-wddgf8bb5br1533...
estearum 9mo ago
No, it's the reverse. Someone who finds Musk's behavior so abhorrent they fear being affiliated with it will actually find reasons they don't really want a Tesla. It doesn't help that Tesla, making extremely low quality and uncomfortable cars for the price point, provides plenty of dislikable things to find.

sejje 9mo ago

Some people. Others are actively embracing it. Most people don't know about the political aspect.