[jrhey]

Thank you for the links to sources. Already aware of some but others were definitely news to me.

Musk has already tried to interfere with my country’s politics on X (not listed above) but all I’m saying is I don’t link those political opinions to the Tesla brand and I don’t think it’s fair or healthy to say that another person holds the same political views as the CEO of the product they purchased.

Nobody decent is pro-child labour, rare earth mineral mining or buying diamonds from conflict zones so to say by buying a product of those practises is outward support of those practices isn’t right. Where do we draw the line?

[zfg]

This is not weak supply chain auditing. This is direct, blatant, in-your-face foreign interference into the politics of other countries. There's nothing subtle or nuanced about it.

Tesla owners will be perceived as Musk supporters (whether they are or not) because Musk is an attention seeking narcissist. He has made himself synonymous with the Tesla brand so buying Tesla means supporting Musk.

Here is the brand damage Musk has done to Tesla in Australia:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-22/tesla-reputat...

Here is Musk farcically calling the Australian government "fascist":

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/elon-musk-doubles-down-o...

There's an election happening this year in Australia. Musk will inject himself into it. He won't be able to help himself, especially not with his new "First Buddy" status:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-03/musk-could-turn-focus...

So I'd guess that Tesla will take another reputational hit this year in Australia.