Tesla’s Downhill Ride: A Year of Reputation Damage

The once-stellar reputation of Tesla, helmed by Elon Musk, has taken a significant hit in the United States over the past year, according to a recent Harris Poll conducted in collaboration with Axios.

The poll used nine different categories to assess a company’s reputation, and Tesla’s ranking fell dramatically from 12th to 62nd place in a year – nestled between State Farm Insurance and AT&T.

This significant slide marks the largest drop among the 100 companies surveyed, outpacing Chrysler’s decline of 22 places to the 67th position.

However, Tesla’s reputation has still managed to surpass that of BP, Spirit Airlines, Meta, Twitter, Fox, and the Trump Organization, with Twitter ranking at 97th place. This may serve as cold comfort, given Musk’s ownership stake in the social media platform.

Meanwhile, Toyota has secured the position as the most respected carmaker, ascending one place to rank sixth. Honda dipped four places to the 13th spot, while Subaru climbed four spots to land at the 16th.

BMW maintained its 24th-place position, while Ford leaped nine places to rank 32nd. General Motors saw a significant rise, moving from 52nd to 34th place. Although ranking ahead of Tesla, Volkswagen remained steady at the 56th position.

Despite this downward shift in Tesla’s reputation, Elon Musk remains characteristically nonchalant, seemingly unfazed even if his statements result in financial losses for Tesla.