MSNBC host Joe Scarborough slammed Elon Musk Tuesday morning for dragging Tesla down with what he called bad business and worse politics.
Scarborough tore into the billionaire during Morning Joe, saying Musk is “getting pounded” from every direction—by markets, customers, and even competitors overseas.
“Tesla is getting routed,” Scarborough said bluntly.
The electric car giant is set to report its first quarter earnings Tuesday after markets close, but things are already looking grim. Tesla stock has crashed nearly 50% from its peak, and Scarborough says Musk’s political choices are making things worse.
“Their problem is, part of the problem is a political problem,” he said. “Obviously, the very areas where he used to get the most, you know, whether you look at California or, let’s just say, bluer states where he’d find most of his [electric vehicle] customers, those cells are drying up.”
Scarborough and co-host Jonathan Lemire pointed to Musk cozying up to Donald Trump and far-right politics as a key reason customers are turning away. Lemire noted the timing of it all, with Musk possibly revealing “how much longer he’s going to stay working for the administration” during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Scarborough wasn’t done. He said Tesla’s global brand is also suffering, with sales tanking in Europe and Canada.
“You look at France, you look at Germany, you look at the EV sales in Europe getting absolutely pounded because, again, he got involved unnecessarily in far-right politics to little to no effect,” Scarborough said. “In fact, God, have you looked at the numbers in Canada lately? I mean, [Prime Minister Mark] Carney is going to probably win an outright majority there. You look at what’s happened across Europe? It’s not working.”
And then there’s China—Tesla’s biggest threat, according to Scarborough.
“All he’s doing is damaging his brand, and then China, I mean, if this were just politics, that would be one problem with Tesla,” he said. “The problem is he’s getting lapped in China on technology.”
Scarborough had one final jab.
“I’m not giving Elon Musk advice, but … I think it is time to go back to your day job. I mean, he’s getting pounded, Tesla is getting routed.”
Watch the segment below:
