[Financial News]
Elon Musk (left), the CEO of Tesla, is holding a press conference with his son X at the White House alongside U.S. President Donald Trump on February 11th (local time) last year.
It has been reported that Tesla’s brand value has decreased by $15.4 billion (approximately 22 trillion won) over the past year due to CEO Elon Musk’s political actions.
On the 27th (local time), CNBC reported this information citing a report from the UK research consulting firm Brand Finance.
According to Brand Finance’s ‘Global 500 2026’ report, Tesla’s brand value has declined for three consecutive years.
As of January this year, Tesla’s brand value is estimated to be $27.61 billion, a sharp drop of about 36% compared to $43 billion in January last year. Compared to its peak in 2023 when it recorded $66.2 billion, it has plummeted by nearly 60%.
Musk’s far-right political actions led traditional Tesla customers, who are typically progressive and eco-friendly, to turn away, which was crucial.
Last year, Musk held the position of head of the U.S. government efficiency board under the Trump administration, supported the German far-right party ‘Alternative for Germany (AfD)’, and backed British far-right activist and Islamophobe Tommy Robinson, exhibiting far-right actions.
Lorenzo Coruzzi, the head of brand value assessment at Brand Finance, stated that key indicators determining Tesla’s brand value—such as reputation, recommendations, trust, and brand coolness—fell last year, with significant declines in Europe and Canada.
In the U.S., Tesla’s reputation is also on the edge.
Tesla’s recommendation score recorded a low of 4.0 out of 10 last year, breaking the previous lowest point. When the brand value peaked in 2023, it recorded a high of 8.2, which has been cut in half.
However, the loyalty of existing customers remained high.
The loyalty score indicating whether customers will continue to drive Tesla electric vehicles in the coming year increased from 90% in January last year to 92% this time.
Nevertheless, Tesla continued to struggle, losing out in brand value to Hyundai Motor Company.
The top automotive brand in terms of value was Toyota from Japan, estimated between $62.7 billion and $64.7 billion. The second was Mercedes-Benz from Germany, estimated at approximately $53 billion, down about 14% compared to the previous year.
Hyundai placed third with an estimated brand value of about $46.3 billion, a 25% increase from approximately $37 billion a year ago.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s rival, China’s BYD, saw its brand value increase by about 23%, from $14.03 billion to $17.29 billion during the same period.