European drugstore giant Rossmann announced Tuesday will now not buy it Teslais introducing electric vehicles for its fleet with immediate effect, citing the pro-Trump political support of CEO Elon Musk.
Germany-based company Rossmann said in a press release that its decision was based “on the incompatibility between the statements of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the values that Tesla represents with its products.”
“Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump,” said Raoul Rossmann, a spokesman for the corporate, in a press release. “Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax – this stance is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars.”
While Rossmann only buys about 180 electric vehicles per 12 months – and only had 38 Teslas in its fleet, based on Bloomberg — the corporate's decision to halt all purchases of Tesla electric vehicles shows that Musk's political decisions have begun to affect the automaker far beyond the U.S.
Musk officially endorsed Trump last month and said he would donate funds to a pro-Trump group he co-founded called America PAC. Musk can be scheduled to interview the previous president, Trump announced Tuesday.
During a debate with President Joe Biden in June, Trump Evasive questions about what he would do, if anything, to combat climate change. And Trump has described climate change as “False report.“He has also promised to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, as he did during his presidency, if elected in November.
According to ongoing investigations by Morning consultationRepublicans in the US began to view Musk more positively after his leveraged acquisition of Twitter (now known as X) in late 2022. However, this has not led to Republicans here being more “thoughtful about buying” electric vehicles. According to Pew Research, Musk's standing has declined among left-leaning voters, even though they are much more likely to buy an electric vehicle.
Rossman's decision follows a recent survey that found a deterioration in Tesla's brand, partly due to Musk's “antics” and “political tirades.” While Tesla's revenue rose 2% in the second quarter, automotive sales fell 7% to $19.9 billion from $21.27 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Tesla opened a factory in Brandenburg (outside Berlin) in 2022 and employs thousands of people there. At the end of 2023, drugstore chain Rossmann reported that it had over 4,700 stores and more than 60,000 employees, about half of whom were employed in Germany.
Tesla is facing protests in Germany from environmental activists who criticised the company's plans to cut down part of a forest and use water for production in Brandenburg. Musk attacked the protesters there, Saying for X in March They are “either the stupidest eco-terrorists in the world or puppets of those who do not pursue good environmental goals.”
Tesla, Musk and Rossmann representatives didn’t reply to requests for further details on Tuesday morning.
image credit : www.cnbc.com