tesla
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Source: James D. Morgan / Getty
What does it say about a person that attaching their name to a product instantly increases the likelihood that the product’s value and saleability will plummet?
Apparently, this is a question for Elon Musk.
Not only has the platform formerly known as Twitter done virtually nothing but tank in every possible sense of the word since Phony Stark took the reins, but a recent study has shown potential Tesla buyers are shopping elsewhere for their automotive needs ever since Musk outed himself as an enthusiastic MAGA cultist who wears Donald Trump’s hind parts as a hat.
According to a new study published by Clean Technica, an independent journalism site focused on green and clean energy, researchers for JW Surety Bonds found that approximately 1 in 4 Americans “avoid Tesla’s technology due to their opinions on Elon Musk.”
Imagine that: Tesla’s latest innovation, the Cybertruck, is an $80,000 vehicle (that’s the low-end price tag) that has been rife with malfunctions and subsequent recalls and looks like it was designed by Homer Simpson for children who still participate in soap boxcar racing — but that might not be why a consumer won’t buy it. Basically, a company could be selling an authentic spaceship for cheap and folks still might not shell out a dime for it because Musk’s name is on it. That’s a damn shame, especially for a CEO who is supposedly a tech genius. (I mean, we all know Elon is a tech pro like Ronald McDonald is a fry cook, but still.)
The only thing particularly surprising about the results of JW’s study is that it’s not young people who are likely to reject a product attached to Musk, it’s also the older generations that Trump has relied on for votes.
From Clean Technica:
Perhaps surprisingly when you consider values and norms they are known for, but perhaps unsurprisingly when you consider how popular Tesla has gotten among young people, the age group most likely to avoid Tesla technology due to Elon Musk is Baby Boomers (people born people 1946 and 1964). Despite stereotypes, though, Baby Boomers came of age in the massive cultural change era of the 1960s and 1970s. They were extremely involved in busting up conservative and closed-minded cultural norms and charting a new course forward for American culture and the world. So, it’s also not that surprising that many in the generation are offended by the strong push to “go backward” and be more closed minded and deeply traditional again. That generation also appreciates more the efforts required to change society, and are more aware of what life was like before those changes.
Tesla sales declined in 2024 compared to 2023. It was the first annual decline for the company since the Model S was launched in 2012. There are many reasons for that, but Tesla definitely took a sales hit in the key market of California, as well as elsewhere, because of Elon Musk’s more and more involved and more and more extreme political engagement. There was already strong research on that as well as a wicked drop in Tesla sales in California. However, the situation surely grew as the year went on and reached new heights in November when Donald Trump was elected president instead of Kamala Harris and Elon Musk was by Trump’s side along the way, during Thanksgiving, during Christmas, and on New Year’s Eve.
It’s almost as if no one really benefits from being a Trump supporter besides the orange man himself. (Just ask Rudy Giuliani.)
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Tesla
Elon Musk has proudly hitched his electric wagon to the Trump train, but could that spell the end for his EV dominance? Recent financial numbers hint at some potential hard times ahead.
Spotted The Verge, Tesla’s 2024 delivery numbers are not looking good. For the first time, the company reported that sales had fallen year over year.
The website reports Musk’s EV company produced 1.77 million vehicles in 2024, a 4% drop from the previous year. Tesla also delivered 1.79 million cars this year, 1% less than in 2023, while deploying 31.4 GWh in energy storage.
There were some silver linings. Tesla reported a record fourth quarter for deliveries, with 495,570 vehicles arriving in customers’ driveways. The EV company also delivered 11 GWh of energy storage products, which it claims was also a record.
Tesla also produced 459,445 vehicles, mostly Model 3s and Ys, in 2024.
Q4 2024
Production: 459,445
Deliveries: 495,570
Energy storage deployments: 11 GWh
A record for both deliveries & deployments
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Full year 2024
Production: 1,773,443
Deliveries: 1,789,226
Energy storage deployments: 31.4 GWh
→ https://t.co/YF9iWpPuud
— Tesla (@Tesla) January 2, 2025
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More Bad News For Tesla
Despite the late rally, Tesla flopped in 2024, falling short of its 2023 numbers. Donald Trump’s newest rump kisser, Elon Musk, warned of hardship for his company due to increased competition and a stale lineup of vehicles.
Even the world’s ugliest vehicle, the Cybetruck, and its “popularity” wasn’t enough to help Telsa have a good year.
According to Wedbush’s Dan Ives, despite breaking records, Tesla did not meet Wall Street’s target of 504,800 vehicle deliveries, resulting in a roughly 5 percent drop in the company’s stock price.
How does the company move forward under the Trump administration, which has made it clear he is not a fan of the incentives given to potential EV buyers? Begs the question? Why would Musk align himself with someone who would hurt his business in the first place?
We are intrigued to see if Musk and Tesla will face consequences in the future for allegiance to the MAGA movement.
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Source: WADE VANDERVORT / Getty / Cybertruck
New details are emerging about the suspect behind a Tesla Cybertruck exploding in front of a Las Vegas Trump Hotel.
Local news affiliate ABC13 KTNV Las Vegas is sharing new details in the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion that left one person dead (the suspect) and multiple people injured.
The news website reports that following federal search operations in Colorado Springs, the suspect behind the explosion rented Elon Musk’s latest monstrosity via the Turo app.
NEW: Video shows Tesla Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. No word yet on the cause pic.twitter.com/tR9UabrsH4
— BNO News (@BNONews) January 1, 2025
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Investigators have identified the suspect as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, who is linked to multiple addresses in Colorado Springs.
The FBI and ATF are currently searching one of Livelsberger’s townhome residences.
What’s raising eyebrows is the possible connection to the fatal Las Vegas attack that left 15 dead and as many as 30 people hurt.
ABC13 KTNV reports that Federal sources say the suspect in Las Vegas and the suspect behind the fatal attack in New Orleans were both in the military. Another connection is that they both use the Turo app to rent the vehicles used in separate incidents that could have been acts of domestic terrorism.
Social Media Reactions To The Cybertruck Explosion
The immediate reaction to Livelsberger allegedly turning the vehicle into a bomb filled with fireworks, camping fuel, and gas tanks was immediate.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk used the moment to highlight how the suspect chose the “wrong vehicle” as a bomb, praising his Cybertruck’s ability to contain an explosion, writing, “The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken.”
The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.
Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken. https://t.co/9vj1JdcRZV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025
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One user pointed out that Phony Stark shouldn’t be so quick to glaze himself, alluding to the fact that the suspect’s poor bomb design, not the vehicle, prevented the explosion from worsening.
People are using the Las Vegas bombing to show the quality of the Cybertruck, when it reality it shows the quality of the explosive device that was used.
From the photo it looks to be poorly constructed and poorly thought out and that’s good for the people in the area. Thank… pic.twitter.com/cLcFYDwqyW
— Happy Captain (@EODHappyCaptain) January 2, 2025
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Another user pointed out a possible design flaw: the suspect couldn’t even get out of the vehicle. This hints at why Elon Musk and the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) are so eager to abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The only person to die in the Cybertruck fire outside of Trump’s hotel in Vegas was the driver, who couldn’t escape. If I was the billionaire manufacturer behind it, I’d want to eliminate the US consumer protection bureau too. pic.twitter.com/6w6Jk1fzqQ
— Brandy Bryant 🏳️⚧️ (@InkMasterbator) January 1, 2025
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Other reactions point out that a Cybertruck exploding in front of a Trump hotel is a fitting way to start the year because of Musk’s involvement in the incoming Trump administration.
If this image isn’t setting the tone for 2025 I don’t know what is… pic.twitter.com/PAOBOGsdcd
— Travon Free (@Travon) January 1, 2025
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Welp.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Before they go blaming an undocument immigrant for the attack, peep his profile
2. Poetic indeed
3. Eyewitness accounts
4. Homebred terrorism at play?
5. America is cooked
6. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you wanted to
7. 2025 is going to be a very interesting year
8.
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Source: ODD ANDERSEN / Getty / Elon Musk
Elon Musk is currently out here stumping for Trump and giving money to those who sign up for his Super PAC. Due to a new lawsuit, he may have to dig even deeper into his pockets.
Spotted on The Verge, one of the production companies behind the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, feels Elon Musk, who is honestly just the Donald Trump of tech, ripped off the movie for his robotaxi event.
On Monday, October 21, LA-based production company Alcon Entertainment slapped Phony Stark, his company Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the use of an AI image generator to create promotional art for the We, Robot event that resembles stills from Blade Runner 2049.
According to Alcon, who also owns the copyright to Blade Runner 2049, WBD and Tesla decided to slide them a request to use imagery from the film just hours ahead of the We, Robot event on October 10 that conveniently took place on the Warner Bros. lot in California.
The website notes that because this event was live-streamed internationally, Alcon directly had to provide clearance for the images, even though Warner Bros. owns some licensing rights to Blade Runner 2049.
Per The Verge:
“Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account,” Alcon’s suit explains. “Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk, Tesla, or any Musk company, for all of these reasons.”
Despite Alcon’s refusal, however, Tesla allegedly decided to feed shots from Blade Runner 2049 into an AI image generator to create “a lightly stylized fake screen still screen” which was displayed prominently during the We, Robot presentation.
The Verge also reports that Musk mentioned Blade Runner while describing sci-fi interpretations of the future. The live stream cut to a photo of a man wearing a trench coat standing in front of a dusty apocalyptic cityscape, basically the entire look of Blade Runner 2049.
This is not the first time Elon Musk and his company have been accused of copying someone else’s style. During the same event, the director of I Robot, Alex Proyas, accused Musk of swagger-jacking his designs, a claim many people on X, formerly Twitter, quickly made.
So, these latest accusations don’t shock us at all.
Music streaming company LiveOne will continue to have a relationship with auto manufacturer Tesla but with less advantageous terms. Starting in December, Tesla will no longer subsidize LiveOne products for some of its customers.
For years, LiveOne’s relationship with Tesla has been a cornerstone of its music streaming business; Tesla vehicles sold in the U.S. with Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package included a membership to LiveOne’s Slacker Radio that was paid by the car maker. The “streaming” button on the Tesla console led drivers to the subsidized, LiveOne-powered streaming platform without needing to connect to the app through their smartphones.
Over the years, LiveOne remained a key streaming partner as the automaker added other streaming apps to its console. Now, LiveOne is losing its preferred status. Starting Tuesday (Oct. 1), Tesla replaced the “streaming” button with a LiveOne-branded app. Come December, LiveOne will no longer be free, although Tesla will continue to pay grandfathered LiveOne accounts in perpetuity.
Trending on Billboard
While Tesla will no longer subsidize the streaming radio subscriptions, LiveOne will offer Tesla owners discounted LiveOne packages. “The conversion opportunity has enormous upside by offering Tesla owners an opportunity to upgrade and have access on all devices at discounted priority pricing,” LiveOne CEO Robert Ellin said in a statement. “We’ll drive growth, unlock new revenue streams, own our data, and increase ARPU.”
In the near term, however, the amended partnership will hurt LiveOne’s financials. In Tuesday’s announcement, LiveOne reduced its guidance for consolidated fiscal 2025 revenue to $120 million to $135 million from $140 million to $155 million. At the midpoints, the change represents a 13.6% decline. Also, LiveOne lowered guidance for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to $8 million to $15 million from a range of $16 million to $20 million — a 36% decline at the midpoints.
The news sent LiveOne shares down as much as 32.6% to $0.64 before closing at $0.73, marking a 23.1% decline from the prior day’s closing price. Combined with LiveOne’s 23.2% drop in share price last week and Monday’s 10.5% decline, the stock has lost 47% in just the last seven trading days.
Tesla’s paid members increased 15 times since LiveOne acquired Slacker in 2017, according to a LiveOne investor presentation from March. LiveOne’s management is focused on establishing new business-to-business and has been in discussions with 50 potential partners, according to the document.
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Source: @Liutauras_ / Twitter
Donald Trump appeared on a livestream hosted by Adin Ross to boost his presidential campaign, but social media wasn’t too impressed.On Monday (August 5), Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a unique event on his campaign schedule. He appeared as the special guest on a live stream hosted by streamer Adin Ross on the Kick platform, which reportedly drew an audience of over 580,000. “Today is going to be the most important stream I’ve ever done,” he said to start the interview, which was held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump walked in to 50 Cent’s hit “Many Men”, which he adopted after the thwarted attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania last month. Ross sported a “Make America Great Again” hat as he asked Trump various softball questions on supposed liberal bias in schools (“Even the teachers have been brainwashed, Trump said) to allowing Trump to give one-word reactions to images of politicians such as California Governor Gavin Newsome (who Trump called “New-scum”) to Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The interview, which lasted 90 minutes, also featured Trump repeating his attacks on Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris including his racist comments about her Black and Indian heritage. Trump also praised Ross’ deferential treatment of him, and said that his youngest son Barron was a “big fan”. Ross also brought up the racketeering case against Young Thug and asked if there was a way he could be treated fairly. “He’s gotta be treated fair,” Trump replied. Ross then gave Trump a Rolex watch valued at $300,000. The two then went outside as Ross gifted Trump a Tesla Cybertruck with a custom wrap featuring the photo of Trump after he was shot at during the Butler rally.
Ross has a highly controversial history that includes platforming white supremacist Nick Fuentes and being buddies with alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate. The 23-year-old followed Tate to the Kick platform after being banned from Twitch for using homophobic slurs in addition to racist and anti-Semitic slurs (Ross is Jewish) and showing pornographic images and videos during his streams. Social media users derided Ross’ interview, noting he hadn’t reached the 1 million viewers he claimed it would get. They also questioned his gifts to Trump, speculating he might’ve violated campaign finance rules.“The evidence suggests that Ross made or sought to make an illegal contribution, so he could face civil penalties,” said campaign watchdog Brendan Fisher.
Check out more reactions to the interview below.
1. Elgin Barrett Eugene Smith III
2. Alex Shulz
3. PELICANS_ENTHUSIAST
4. Matt, Dad Hat Enthusiast
5. Wild Geerters
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Source: Brandon Bell / Getty
Tesla’s reputation as a car manufacturer might be in jeopardy. The brand has just recalled 2 million automobiles due to software issues.
New York Magazine is reporting that the Austin, Texas, based company announced that it will be recalling select 2012-2023 and all Model S vehicles, 2016-2023 Model X vehicles, all model year 2017-2023 Model 3 vehicles, and all model year 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. After a yearlong investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the autopilot software can cause accidents due to driver misuse. Tesla denies that claim but has voluntarily offered customers free maintenance.
“In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature. At no cost to customers, affected vehicles will receive an over-the-air (OTA) software remedy” a press release from Tesla read.
Luckily, owners of the aforementioned vehicles will not have to visit a Tesla dealership for service. The brand will remedy the software issue via download. “Affected vehicles will receive an over-the-air software remedy, which customers can install at their convenience. The owner does not need to schedule a service appointment.”
Lastly, Tesla confirms that the vehicles are still safe to drive. Founder and CEO Elon Musk has yet to comment on the matter. You can read Tesla’s recall statement here.
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George Soros, the target of several conspiracy theories from right-wing critics and pundits, finds himself at the opposite end of Elon Musk‘s wrath this week. After the investment firm owned by George Soros sold off its Tesla stock holdings, Musk seemingly went on the offensive and referred to the billionaire businessman as Magneto of X-Men fame.
On Monday, Soros Management Fund sold off its Tesla stock holding after the company reported a high rally of its stock position in the first quarter. In what was probably a savvy business move in contrast to a personal preference, it was expected that the Soros family business would enjoy hefty gains as a result.
While it isn’t known what Musk meant by referring to Soros as Magneto via Twitter, Musk was quickly schooled about Magneto by Twitter users who explained that the conflicted supervillain believed in the liberation of mutants due to his experiences as a Holocaust survivor, similar to Soros.
Journalist Brian Krassenstein attempted to give a lesson in a tweet but was met with a muted response from Musk.
“Fun fact: Magneto’s experiences during the Holocaust as a survivor shaped his perspective as well as his depth and empathy. Soro, also a Holocaust survivor, get’s attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think are bad merely because they disagree with this political affiliations,” Krassenstein tweeted.
Musk responded, “You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.”
As it stands, what Musk said in response to the tweet mirrors many talking points from conspiracy theorists who believe Soros is behind a number of left-leaning organizations and funnels money into groups to stamp out conservative ideals and the like. Further, the jab reads as an antisemitic dog whistle to some
On Twitter, the reaction to Elon Musk’s jab at George Soros is ongoing. We’ve got the reactions listed below.
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Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty
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