A few years ago, it suddenly became inappropriate to spend a stay in one of the Trump residences, as the President of the United States was such a foil. Tomorrow, will we be able to parade around in a Tesla, as do the wealthy Democratic geeks of Silicon Valley, or will his association with his boss, Elon Musk, 51, have become a foil?
If customers are loyal for the moment, Tesla’s image is deteriorating sharply. According to a Yougov survey, brand perception turned negative overall in November. It becomes partisan. According to the Morning Consult institute, Republicans and Democrats had a very favorable image of Tesla in January: positive opinions exceeded negative opinions by 31 points. This rate crumbled to 26.5 points for the Republicans and, above all, collapsed to 10.4 for the Democrats. In question, the behavior of Elon Musk since he took control of Twitter at the end of October.
The new owner does not act as a neutral manager of the platform. He doesn’t even have the attitude of a traditional media boss, pushing his political agenda but remaining cautiously in the background. He multiplies political outings in all directions, against woke culture, against Joe Biden, against the American central bank, against the anti-Covid-19 policy.
Latest, the suspension, Thursday, December 15, of accounts of journalists from major media, accused of indirectly giving his position in real time and threatening his safety and that of his family. the Washington Post believes that Mr. Musk “provided no evidence that any of the journalists did so”. The interested party – who finally agreed to reactivate the accounts on Friday evening, following an online survey – defended himself in the morning against the outcry: “If someone published in real time the locations and addresses of journalists in the New York Times, the FBI would investigate, there would be congressional hearings, and Biden would give speeches about the end of democracy! » Nevertheless, these positions are ruining the reputation of Twitter and its revenue, without anyone knowing where this fight will lead the billionaire.
“Massive misallocation of time and talent”
Born South African, Elon Musk can in no way claim the presidency of the United States, but this fifty-year-old libertarian has become one of the main political actors on the right of the American chessboard. The Republicans are jubilant about the anti-woke crusade led by Musk, the left cries foul. “Randomly banning journalists only increases the intensity around you. Take a break and push back against neofascism. Maybe try putting your phone down”, urged Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. For their part, the Europeans plan to ban Twitter.
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