Tesla Wipes Out 22 Trillion Won in Brand Value Over Musk’s Political Forays

[The Financial News]


Tesla has lost 15.4 billion dollars in brand value, or about 22 trillion won, over the past year due to CEO Elon Musk’s political activities, according to a recent analysis.
The Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) reported this on the 27th (local time), citing a report from the U.K.-based research and consulting firm Brand Finance.
According to Brand Finance’s “Global 500 2026” report, Tesla’s brand value has declined for three consecutive years.
As of this January, Tesla’s brand value is estimated at 27.61 billion dollars. That is a sharp drop of about 36% from 43 billion dollars in January last year. Compared with 2023, when Tesla peaked at 66.2 billion dollars in brand value, it has plunged by nearly 60%.
Musk’s far-right political stance has been a decisive factor, pushing away Tesla’s traditional base of progressive, environmentally minded consumers.
Over the past year, Musk was described as having served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Donald Trump administration, voiced support for the German far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), and backed U.K. far-right activist and anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), among other far-right moves.
Lorenzo Coruzzi, who leads brand valuation at Brand Finance, said that key indicators underpinning Tesla’s brand value—such as reputation, likelihood of recommendation, trust, and perceived “coolness”—all deteriorated last year, noting that the decline was particularly steep in Europe and Canada.
In the United States as well, Tesla’s reputation has been pushed to the brink.
Tesla’s recommendation score fell to 4.0 out of 10 last year, marking a record low. That is roughly half of the peak score of 8.2 recorded in 2023, when its brand value was at its highest.
However, loyalty among existing customers remained strong.
The loyalty score, which reflects whether current owners intend to keep driving Tesla electric vehicles over the next year, rose from 90% in January last year to 92% this time.
Even so, Tesla continues to struggle in terms of brand value, trailing Hyundai Motor Company, among others.
The top automotive brand by value is Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation, estimated at around 62.7 to 64.7 billion dollars. Second place went to Germany’s Mercedes-Benz, whose brand value was put at 53 billion dollars, down about 14% from a year earlier.
Hyundai Motor Company ranked third, with an estimated brand value of about 46.3 billion dollars. That represents a 25% surge from roughly 37 billion dollars a year ago.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Chinese rival BYD Company Limited (BYD) saw its brand value climb about 23% over the same period, from 14.03 billion dollars to 17.29 billion dollars.

dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter