The easiest thing to say is, don’t antagonize your core customers,” Yale economist and study author Kenneth Gillingham said.

Ahead of a vote for Tesla’s board to decide on an almighty pay package for CEO Elon Musk next week, Tesla executives have hinted at a possible replacement if things don’t work out.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's polarizing political actions since acquiring Twitter, later rebranded X, in 2022 dramatically hurt the automaker's U.S. sales, underscoring how deeply its fortunes are intertwined with the billionaire's persona.

Not only did Tesla sales suffer, but the study also found that competitive EV brands saw a likely-Musk-induced bump.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has made headlines twice recently after proposing two gargantuan compensation packages for CEO Elon Musk despite a yearslong lawsuit brought by an investor who believes its board of directors sought to overpay Musk.

Tesla is looking at internal CEO candidates if Elon Musk leaves in case the $1 trillion pay plan is not passed at the annual shareholder meeting next week, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing the automaker's board chair.

In a positive sign for Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms, the president revealed he is back in touch with Musk.

Meanwhile, TV host Jim Cramer has backed Musk's $1 trillion pay packet, which has drawn criticism from proxy advisory firms like International Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. Cramer said that Musk, as the CEO of Tesla, "was actually worth" the package.