Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, is facing calls for a boycott of his electric vehicle company due to his controversial political views. A recent survey shows that many people in Germany support these calls.
Musk has frequently made headlines with his provocative posts on his social media platform, X. Some advertisers have already pulled their support, and Musk has openly expressed his alignment with the Republican Party, even organizing an interview with Donald Trump. This has put pressure not only on Musk but also on Tesla. For instance, the Rossmann drugstore chain announced that it would no longer purchase Tesla vehicles in the future—a stance echoed by many in Germany.
According to a survey conducted by the newspaper Stern and the opinion research institute Forsa, 47% of respondents believe a boycott of Tesla is justified. In contrast, 37% are against it, and 16% chose not to express an opinion.
The survey reveals that supporters of a Tesla boycott are predominantly voters of the Green Party (72%), the Social Democratic Party (SPD) (61%), and the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) (47%). On the other hand, 44% of Free Democratic Party (FDP) supporters and 47% of those aligned with Sahra Wagenknecht’s movement view the boycott critically. Notably, 67% of Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters strongly oppose the boycott. In Eastern Germany, where the AfD enjoys significant support, opinions are split, with 41% supporting and 41% opposing the boycott.
EU Commission warns Musk over online platform content
Musk frequently cites freedom of speech as a core principle on X, reinstating accounts previously banned for hate speech or other reasons. However, the European Commission recently warned Musk’s platform X of potential violations of European laws against online hate speech and incitement to violence, just before his interview with Donald Trump. In a letter, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton emphasized that the Digital Services Act (DSA) applies to Musk as well, given his influence with 190 million followers.
The survey data, collected by Forsa for Stern and RTL Germany on August 8 and 9, 2024, involved 1,001 respondents. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points. The survey asked: “Elon Musk, who among other things runs the car company Tesla, is currently being criticized for extreme political statements. A German company has now announced that it will no longer buy Tesla cars because of this. Do you think this is justified or not?”
