At the end of August, Bloomberg reported rumors that electric car maker Tesla plans to unveil its upcoming autonomous robotaxi – expected to be called the Cybercab – on Oct. 10 at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank. It is reported that this vehicle will be purpose-built to function exclusively as a self-driving cab. As such, it won’t have an accelerator, brake pedals or a steering wheel, and will be complimented with Tesla’s special equipment. A week or so ago, sources shared a photo of a small, canary yellow car hitting the Warners lot, lined with Tesla production cars, prompting some to speculate that it is a hidden robotaxi.
The hype, promises and broken promises about the unveiling and production of Tesla’s future products – the “semi” tractor, the new sports car, the entry-level car, this robotaxi – often as a standard operating procedure. Since Tesla completely eliminated its public relations department four years ago, Hollywood Reporter cannot guarantee that this event (which has already been postponed once this year) will take place at all.
But, if it goes ahead, the global launch of the new Tesla will raise eyebrows in Hollywood and cast a spotlight on the relationship between the carmaker’s increasingly controversial CEO, Elon Musk, and the CEO of Warners chief David Zaslav. . (Warner Bros. declined to comment on the rumored robotaxi.) As Musk continues his way into the MAGA universe — pledging allegiance to conspiracies, reinforcing the messages of racist and antisemitic, denigrating trans people, including his own daughter, and supporting Donald Trump – his stock in Hollywood, and that of his brand, has declined.
“Elon talks a lot, and his political views are not very popular in the entertainment industry,” says Debbie Levin, CEO of the Environmental Media Association (EMA), which promotes messages, actions and products to make positive environmental change. Hollywood.
The current state of the business model in Hollywood is very visible compared to ten years ago, when Tesla products first entered the industry. “Tesla has become the ‘It’ car in terms of electric power,” Levin says. If you could spend $100,000 on a car, that was one way to show that you care about the environment.”
As the brand expanded, Southern California – long at the forefront of automotive trends – became one of its biggest markets. “When you’re in Hollywood, you walk into the studios, that’s all you see,” says Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of Auto Pacific, a SoCal-based motion research firm. . “It’s Teslas everywhere.”
Changes are taking place in local consumer preferences and purchasing behavior. “We’ve definitely seen sales drop significantly at Tesla this year,” Kim said, citing a nearly 25 percent drop in sales in the Golden State this quarter alone. This is not only notable because the brand is losing market share as luxury automakers such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, and compelling upstarts such as Polestar, Lucid and Rivian, diversify their EV offerings. , but because, in the growing EV market, Tesla is losing ground. . “Despite all the headlines, EV sales are growing. They’re just not growing at the same pace as before. But it’s really Tesla loss sales,” Kim says. “In fact, Tesla is one of the few EV manufacturers that is losing volume, not just losing market share.”
This decline can be attributed to Musk’s recent transition and internet-related antics. “Tesla rejection came up recently and is continuing among Democrats. They want nothing to do with Tesla,” said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, a Southern California-based consulting firm. conducts in-depth psychological research with hundreds of thousands of new car buyers every year. “And there are no hidden Republicans buying these. That is not there.”
Edwards cites recent data showing that the number of new buyers likely to pick up a Tesla for their next purchase has dropped by nearly half since 2022, and that number will . not think Tesla is up by nearly two-thirds, with the biggest decline occurring this summer as Musk moves closer to Trump. He adds: “And those numbers are going in that bad direction.
According to Edwards, such changes in attitude can take time to translate into consumer behavior in the automotive sector, because – unlike consumer goods that are not durable such as beer or fast fashion – the purchase cycle is happens often. “Some people with Teslas are now very angry, they are destroying their rental houses and leaving. However, many people do not have the financial strength,” he says. “So, we will not see much which until the next three years. But when you buy the next thing, you better believe there will be a flow if things don’t change soon.
Of course, Tesla has never been a traditional or predictable business, and customer reactions may not follow the norm, even in the industry. continuous entertainment. “There’s a huge Tesla cafe, the Tesla Diner, that’s being built in LA right now,” Kim says. “And there’s all kinds of fun and excitement around that, even though it’s a weird thing in the middle of Hollywood.”
However, it seems likely that there will be a lasting effect on the response to Musk’s challenge, especially in Hollywood. And, because of the industry’s influence on consumer behavior, this effect will be widespread – nationally, or even globally, says Edwards. “When you have that level of hubris, you do and say stupid things. And I would say Trump and Elon are very similar. They do and say some of the stupidest things,” he said. “If Elon continues this way, he will find himself without a company in the US”
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