Tesla investors have a lot of questions for Musk about his political activism for Trump
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks with former president Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
As Tesla prepares for quarterly results Wednesday, many investors have one big issue on their minds: Donald Trump.
On a forum Tesla uses to solicit investor questions online in advance of its earnings calls, dozens of inquiries poured in from retail shareholders about Elon Musk’s politics, his incendiary commentary on X, and his efforts to get Trump back in the White House.
“Elon Musk has the right to express his political views, but his public activism seems at odds with his responsibility as CEO to protect shareholder value,” an anonymous retail investor wrote on the forum. “How does Tesla address this, and can it confirm Musk’s actions are not harming sales or growth?”
The comment received 168 upvotes. Another question, which received 527 upvotes, asked if Tesla’s board is doing anything to ensure Musk’s “political engagement doesn’t detract from Tesla’s core mission and protects shareholder value and brand integrity.”
Third-quarter results are scheduled to hit after the close of regular trading Wednesday.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is concurrently the CEO of Tesla and defense contractor SpaceX and the owner of social network X. He also started a company, xAI, in 2023 to develop artificial intelligence products outside Tesla, and he’s the founder of brain computer interface company Neuralink and tunneling venture The Boring Co.
Adding to what Musk has called his “17 jobs,” he has also floated the idea to Trump that he should form a “government efficiency commission” to cut spending and slash regulations. Trump has promised to do it and to let Musk effectively lead it.
In his effort to try to push the Republican nominee and ex-president past the finish line in a deadlocked race, Musk embarked on a speaking tour in Pennsylvania to drive voter registration. He called the state the “linchpin” in this election, and Saturday he said he would randomly award $1 million a day to registered voters who sign a petition for his pro-Trump PAC.
While Musk has attracted plenty of media scrutiny for his political views, they’ve rarely been discussed at company shareholder meetings or in Wall Street analysts’ notes.
According to analyst notes compiled by FactSet, which doesn’t include all sell-side firms, the topic of Trump and the election has been almost absent from the discussion.
The financial impact of Musk’s politics can be hard to quantify.
But at least one venture capitalist and Tesla bull, Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, has given it a shot.
Munster wrote in a note on Oct. 5 that Musk’s heightened “political commentary” in the past four months “may have reduced deliveries by 5-10k during the quarter.” Munster said that means the company’s U.S. numbers would have been 4% higher and total numbers almost 2% higher “if not for the political dynamic.”
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brand consultancy Interbrand, which has been running a Best Global Brands study for 25 years, found that Tesla’s brand value declined 9% this year. Tesla fell in the rankings to the 12th spot, behind automakers Toyota, Mercedes Benz and BMW, which all cracked the top 10.
“Most car manufacturers are grappling with the shift to EVs, and although Tesla was born in that territory, its changing focus is causing market confusion about the strategies it is executing,” Interband Global CEO Gonzalo Brujo said in an email to CNBC. “This has not been helped by recent introductions, like the truck falling short as competitors deliver better cars.”
The top five brands ranked by Interbrand were all tech companies that compete with Tesla for talent and, in some cases, on products: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Samsung.
Tesla’s vehicle lineup is full of models that have been around for years, including the still popular Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUV. And the company has been asking investors to focus on its plans for dedicated robotaxis, driverless software, humanoid robots and supercomputers, instead of its core automotive business.
Brujo said Musk’s antics could represent a major distraction from all of that.
“A CEO or brand aligning with anything political is taking a risk,” he wrote. “It can be polarizing, and the business or brand could risk losing customers as a result.”
Tesla shares are down 14% for the year due to an 18% slide in October. The Nasdaq is about flat for the month and up almost 22% this year.
An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation flies near the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023.
Roselle Chen | Reuters
Air taxi maker Joby Aviation in a new lawsuit accused competitor Archer Aviation of using stolen information by a former employee to “one-up” a partnership deal with a real estate developer.
“This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated,” Joby said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in a California Superior Court in Santa Cruz, where the company is based.
Archer and Joby did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that former U.S. state and local policy lead, George Kivork, downloaded dozens of files and sent some content to his personal email two days before he resigned in July to take a job at Archer, which had recruited him.
By August, Joby said a partner that worked with Kivork said it had been approached by Archer with a “more lucrative deal.” Joby alleges that the eVTOL rival’s understanding of “highly confidential” details helped it leverage negotiations.
Joby also said the developer attempted to terminate the agreement, citing a breach of confidentiality.
Kivork refused to return the files when Joby approached him after conducting an investigation, according to the suit. The company also said Archer denied wrongdoing, and would not disclose how it learned about the terms of the agreement or provide results from an internal investigation it allegedly undertook.
The lawsuit comes during a busy period for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology as companies race to gain Federal Aviation Administration certification to start flying commercially. ‘
The sector has also benefitted from President Donald Trump‘s newly minted eVTOL pilot program.
Joby argued in the complaint that it’s “imperative” to protect Joby’s work “from this type of espionage” to promote the sector’s success and ensure fair competition.
Last week, Joby said it completed its first test flight for a hybrid aircraft it’s working on with defense contractor L3Harris. This month, Amazon-backed Beta Technologies, another electric flight company, also went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Joby shares have more than doubled over the last year, while Archer is up about 68%.
In August 2023, Archer settled a previous legal dispute with Boeing-owned Wisk Aero over the alleged theft of trade secrets. As part of the deal, Archer agreed to use Wisk as its autonomous tech partner.
A hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2026.
Joby and Archer year-to-date stock chart.
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