“They’re Destroying Their Leases and Walking Away”
In late August, Bloomberg reported rumors that electric automaker Tesla plans to reveal its forthcoming autonomous robotaxi — expected to be called the Cybercab — on Oct. 10 at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank. This vehicle will reportedly be purpose-built to function solely as a self-driving cab. As such, it will not contain an accelerator, brake pedals or a steering wheel, and will be hailed via a special Tesla app. A week or so ago, sources shared an image of a small, canary-yellow vehicle trolling the Warners lot, tailed by Tesla production vehicles, leading some to suggest it was a camouflaged robotaxi.
Overstatements, obfuscations and broken promises regarding the unveiling and production of future Tesla products — a “semi” tractor-trailer, a new sporty roadster, an entry-level vehicle, this robotaxi — are so frequent as to be standard operating procedure. Since Tesla entirely eliminated its public relations department four years ago, The Hollywood Reporter can’t confirm that this event (already postponed once this year) will occur at all.
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But, if it does move forward, the global launch of a new Tesla at Warners is certain to raise eyebrows in Hollywood and draw scrutiny toward the chummy relationship between the carmaker’s increasingly controversial CEO, Elon Musk, and Warners’ embattled chief executive, David Zaslav. (Warner Bros. declined to comment on the rumored robotaxi reveal.) As Musk has continued his trajectory into the MAGA-verse — pledging allegiance to right-wing conspiracies, amplifying racist and antisemitic messages, disparaging trans people, including his own daughter, and endorsing Donald Trump — his stock in Hollywood, and that of his brand, has plummeted.
“Elon is very outspoken, and his political views are not as popular in the entertainment industry,” says Debbie Levin, CEO of the Environmental Media Association (EMA), which promotes messages, actions and products to create positive environmental change in Hollywood.
The brand’s current diminished status in Hollywood is particularly notable when compared to a decade ago, when Tesla products began penetrating the industry. “The Tesla became the ‘It’ car in terms of electrification,” Levin says. “If you could spend $100,000 on a car, that was sort of the way to go to show that you care about the environment.”
As the brand expanded, Southern California — long at the forefront of vehicular trends — became one of its largest markets. “When you’re in Hollywood, driving around the studios, that’s pretty much all you see,” says Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of Auto Pacific, a SoCal-based mobility research firm. “It’s Teslas everywhere.”
Shifts are now occurring in local consumer interest and purchase behavior. “Certainly we have seen sales drop significantly at Tesla this year,” Kim says, citing a nearly 25 percent drop in sales in the Golden State this quarter alone. This is notable not just because the brand is losing market share as established luxury automakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, and compelling upstarts like Polestar, Lucid and Rivian, diversify their EV offerings, but because, in an expanding EV marketplace, Tesla is shrinking. “Despite all the headlines, EV sales are still growing. They’re just not growing at the same speed that they were before. But Tesla is actually losing sales,” Kim says. “In fact, Tesla is one of the few EV makers that has been losing volume, not just losing market share.”
This decline can be correlated with Musk’s recent rightward turn and related online antics. “Rejection of Tesla recently spiked and continues among Democrats. They want nothing to do with Tesla,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, a Southern California-based consultancy that conducts hundreds of thousands of in-depth psychographic surveys with new car buyers annually. “And there are no hidden Republicans that are buying these. That just doesn’t exist.”
Edwards cites recent proprietary survey data demonstrating that the number of potential new car buyers who would consider a Tesla for their next purchase fell by nearly half since 2022, and the number who would definitely not consider a Tesla increased by nearly two-thirds, with the steepest declines occurring this summer as Musk cozied up to Trump. “And those numbers are still moving in that negative direction,” he adds.
According to Edwards, such attitudinal shifts can take time to translate into consumer behavior in the automotive category, because — unlike in non-durable consumer goods like beer or fast fashion — the purchase cycle occurs infrequently. “Some people that are in Teslas now are so angry, they’re destroying their leases and walking away. However, most people don’t have the financial capability,” he says. “So, we’re not going to really see that magnitude until the next three years. But come the next purchase, you better believe there’s going to be that exodus if things don’t change soon.”
Of course, Tesla has never been a traditional or predictable business, and consumer response may not follow ordinary trends, even in the progressive entertainment industry. “There’s a giant Tesla cafe, the Tesla Diner, that’s being built in L.A. right now,” Kim says. “And there’s all kinds of buzz and excitement around that, despite the fact that it’s smack in the middle of Hollywood.”
Still, it seems quite likely that there will be a lasting impact in response to Musk’s provocations, especially in Hollywood. And, given the industry’s influence over consumer behavior, this effect will likely become more pervasive — nationally, or even globally, says Edwards. “When you have that level of hubris, you do and say the dumbest things. And I would say that Trump and Elon are very similar. They do and say some of the dumbest things,” he says. “If Elon continues on this path, he’s going to find himself without a company in the U.S.”
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