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Scott Galloway, a prominent marketing professor at New York University, says Elon Musk’s links to the cost-cutting White House DOGE Office fueled “one of the greatest brand destructions” of all time.
Speaking on an episode of the Pivot podcast, which he cohosts with journalist Kara Swisher, Galloway said Musk’s role with the agency had taken a major toll on Tesla.
“Tesla was a great brand,” Galloway said.
“The rivers have reversed and the tide has turned entirely against him,” he continued, citing a recent Axios Harris poll that showed Tesla had plummeted from eighth place in the ranking of America’s 100 most visible companies in 2021 to 95th in 2025.
Galloway attributed Tesla’s issues to Musk alienating the company’s core customer base with his turn toward politics over the last year.
In the United States, the Tesla CEO spent millions backing Trump’s presidential campaign and was almost inseparable from him during the transition. He then became the public face of DOGE, an advisory body tasked with reducing government spending.
While Musk became a hero to many of Trump’s supporters, the image of a tech billionaire wielding so much power also sparked a backlash, which mostly targeted Tesla.
Tesla reported a 71% drop in earnings per share year over year during its earnings call in late April and has faced widespread protests at its dealerships and showrooms.
“He is a brilliant guy, but he’s alienated his core demographic,” Galloway said on Friday. “He’s alienated the wrong people. Three-quarters of Republicans would never consider buying an EV. So he’s cozied up to the people who aren’t interested in EVs.”
During Tesla’s recent earnings call, Musk said he planned to step back from his work with DOGE and refocus on the companies that made him a household name. He reiterated that on Saturday.
“Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” Musk wrote on X after the platform had battled with widespread outages.
“I must be super focused on 𝕏/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out.”
The SpaceX CEO also told an audience at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday that he planned to spend “a lot less” on political campaigns in the future.
“If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it,” Musk clarified. “I do not currently see a reason.”
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