Tesla's ranking according to Axios in several categories when compared to others
Axis
Tesla took a significant dip in this year's Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings, dropping from number 12 to number 62, which places the company in the "Good" category. This significant dip comes amidst a shifting landscape for the EV industry, Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, and concerns over the CEO's focus. Before we go too far, it's important to note that the information for this study was compiled from March 13 to 28.
The Axios Harris Poll is a respected annual survey that measures the reputations of America's most visible brands. This year, the survey compiled the opinions of 16,310 Americans. Respondents were asked to rate the companies that, in their opinion, stand out for having the best and worst reputations today.
Despite the drop, Tesla did achieve "Excellent" scores in the trajectory, vision, and products and services categories, signifying a strong appreciation for the company's innovations and future-focused mindset. However, it received "Fair" marks in trust, character, and citizenship.
Musk's Twitter Takeover and the Impact on Tesla
This decline coincides with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. According to Axios' Sara Fischer, the shift in reputation could be attributed to several factors related to Musk's decision. First, the stock dump necessary for the Twitter acquisition raised eyebrows. Second, shareholders have accused Musk of neglecting Tesla, calling for him to appoint a new CEO for Twitter to refocus his attention on the EV manufacturer.
Again, important to note that the situation has already changed. Musk has appointed Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's new CEO. Musk also rebuffed rumors that he would leave Tesla, stating that the new Twitter CEO will allow him to spend more time at Tesla.
Tesla's Continued Strength in Innovation Amidst Challenges
Furthermore, Tesla's status as the unrivaled trailblazer in the EV field is being increasingly challenged. Major traditional automakers, like Ford, Honda, and Toyota, have begun to invest heavily in electric vehicles, chipping away at Tesla's "shiny new object" status. As a result, these automakers have surpassed Tesla in this year's reputation rankings, with Ford at number 32, Honda at 13, and Toyota landing a coveted spot at number 6.
But as Axios and the 16,000 respondents fail to realize, Tesla is more than the king of EVs. Solar continues to grow in popularity, and Tesla is a major player in that space, and let's not forget Optimus. The company has fundamentally shifted the paradigm of what's possible in personal transportation. Tesla's innovative spirit remains its core strength, evidenced by its high scores in trajectory and vision.
Tesla's reputation has seen a hiccup in this year's Axios Harris Poll. While the Twitter takeover and concerns over Musk's dual CEO role have contributed to this decline, the competition from traditional automakers embracing EV technology should not be overlooked. As the industry evolves, Tesla must strategize to maintain its influential role and polish its public image to climb back up in future reputation rankings.
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Elon Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump has quickly shifted from cooperation to conflict, as the two exchanged comments earlier today.
Musk’s companies operate in sectors that are either heavily regulated—or, in his view, not regulated enough. His political involvement makes more sense when seen through the lens of shaping policy: he’s pushed for looser regulations around SpaceX, more consistent standards for autonomous vehicles, and more oversight of artificial intelligence.
But after today’s back and forth, Trump is now threatening to eliminate all EV subsidies and cancel SpaceX contracts.
While we don’t usually cover politics, Musk’s recent criticism of Trump’s new spending bill could and likely will negatively affect both Tesla and SpaceX.
The fallout is already impacting Tesla stock, which fell 14.26% today and has dropped another 2% in after hours trading.
Below is a thread outlining the public exchange between Musk and Trump.
On June 3rd, Musk posted a comment to X criticizing Trump’s new bill due to it drastically increasing the nation’s debt.
Not a Tesla App
Today Trump responded on Truth Social saying the bill is necessary to prevent tax increases.
Not a Tesla App
Trump says in an interview that Musk knew the inner workings of the bill, but is only now speaking out about it. while Musk denies being shown the bill at all.
🚨TRUMP: "I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot. He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem & he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to cut EV mandate" pic.twitter.com/aeCcmCAODQ
Trump turns on Musk, and goes back to his anti-EV campaign.
Not a Tesla App
Trump is now threatening to end government contracts for SpaceX, which Musk is calling his bluff on, saying that SpaceX can start decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft immediately.
Not a Tesla App
While we thought this would be the end of political involvement for Musk, he still appears to want to have a larger voice in politics.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Tesla stock reacts tomorrow. We may be in for another rough ride as Trump looks for additional ways to make Musk’s life more difficult. As we saw in the NJ Turnpike case, where Tesla is being forced to decommission all of their Superchargers along the popular route, the best product doesn’t always win.
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
Tesla recently shared statistics on its Supercharger expansion in the first quarter of 2025. The numbers highlight the work that Tesla’s teams are doing to expand the network and keep up with the growing demand from Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles.
Q1 2025 By the Numbers
Here’s how the Tesla Supercharger network performed in the first quarter of 2025.
Tesla brought online approximately 2,200 new Supercharger stalls worldwide, representing a 17% year-over-year growth for the quarter. That’s impressive growth, especially since Tesla is simultaneously working to transition older V2 stalls to V4 stalls.
Overall, Tesla delivered 1.4 TWh (that’s terawatt-hours) of energy to vehicles, representing a 26% year-over-year growth. More people than ever are using the Supercharger network - and with 42 million charging sessions in Q1 2025 (27% annual growth), Tesla is the de-facto standard for EV charging — even if the NJ Turnpike authorities don’t want to believe it.
That 1.4 TWh accounts for approximately 173 million gallons (657 liters) of gasoline being saved, which offsets 1.5B kilograms of CO2. While that may pale in comparison to the billions of metric tons of CO2 emitted by passenger vehicles every year in the US, it is still a significant amount of carbon being offset.
More Changes Coming
With such a strong start to the year, we can expect Tesla to continue posting impressive numbers throughout Q2 and likely throughout the remainder of 2025. Tesla’s pace of opening over 2,000 stalls (equivalent to 250 8-stall sites) per quarter seems to be well established, which means more density, faster charging, and more range for more parts of the world.
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