Tesla's Image Suffers Blow: EV Giant Drops 50 Spots In List Of Most Reputable US Brands

A YouGov survey in late 2022 showed that the approval rating for Tesla, Inc. TSLA electric vehicle brand slipped to a net negative score of 1.4%  Things have not improved much, going by the results of a more recent survey.

What Happened: Tesla fell 50 slots to the 62nd position in the list of top 100 U.S. companies by reputation, according to Axios Harris Poll 100. The survey, which gauges the reputation of the most visible brands in America, took responses from 16,310 Americans from a nationally representative sample and was conducted March 13-28.

The respondents rated the 100 most visible companies on nine dimensions of reputation to calculate each company's reputational quotient or RQ. Tesla's RQ was 74.3, with the EV maker scoring the least on character, citizenship, and trust.

Its highest ranking was in parameters, including trajectory, vision and products & services.

See Also: Everything You Need To Know About Tesla (TSLA) Stock

Among automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. TM has the best ranking, as it took the sixth spot with an RQ of 81. Hondo Motor Co. HM is placed 14^th, Subaru Corp. FUJHY 16^th, Ford Motor Co. F  32^nd and General Motors Corp. GM 34^th. Volkswagen AG VWAGY has a better ranking than Tesla at 56.

Why It's Important: CEO Elon Musk's mercurial statements, his open political leanings and abuse and hate speech that are rampant on Twitter, which was bought by Musk in late October 2022, are apparently impairing Tesla's reputation.

This is evident from the fact that the EV pioneer scored well on its products & services as well as vision.

Musk's preoccupation with Twitter since he bought it alienated even some of his staunchest supporters. The appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter should remove some of this overhang.

In premarket trading on Wednesday, Tesla shares fell 1.38% to $183.20, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Tesla Insider Buying Alert: Newly Crowned Automotive Head Tom Zhu Racks Up 339K Shares

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