Tesla lost $15 billion in brand value in 2024, Brand Finance found

The worth of Tesla’s model fell by 26% in 2024, a second straight annual decline, with components together with an growing older lineup of automobiles, and CEO Elon Musk’s “antagonism,” in response to analysis and consulting agency Model Finance.

Tesla’s model worth now stands at an estimated $43 billion, down from $58.3 billion originally of 2024 and $66.2 billion at first of 2023, the agency stated in its annual rating. Toyota is essentially the most beneficial model in autos at $64.7 billion, with Mercedes shut behind at $53 billion, the researchers discovered.

Model Finance, based mostly in London, conducts complete shopper surveys and analyzes hundreds of firms’ financials, income, licensing agreements, margins and extra, to estimate the financial worth of manufacturers. The assessments embrace company manufacturers and the sub-brands related to particular person product traces.

As a part of the agency’s rating this yr, Model Finance analyzed solutions from about 175,000 survey respondents worldwide, together with about 16,000 individuals who shared their views on Tesla.

The outcomes present that the best way customers view Tesla may be very completely different from Wall Road’s evaluation.

Tesla’s inventory worth soared 63% final yr, reaching a document in December, after buyers snapped up the shares following Donald Trump’s election victory the prior month. Musk contributed $277 million to assist propel Trump and different Republican candidates to victory, and is poised to wield affect within the administration to the good thing about his firms.

With regards to the broader public, Model Finance CEO David Haigh says that Musk’s political rhetoric and public persona has its downsides.

“There are individuals who suppose he is great, however many that do not,” Haigh stated. “In case you are shopping for electrical automobiles, his persona is very more likely to affect your view of whether or not or not you need to purchase one among his firm’s automobiles, however that is solely one among many components.”

On key measures like “consideration,” “status” and “suggestion,” Tesla’s scores declined throughout the board in main markets the place it operates factories and sells its automobiles — the U.S., Europe and Asia, Model Finance discovered.

A consideration rating reveals whether or not individuals would take into account shopping for from a model. A status rating reveals how extremely respondents regard a model on common on a scale from 1 to 10. And a suggestion rating signifies whether or not or not individuals are more likely to converse favorably a few model.

Tesla noticed vital declines in its scores in Europe, the place its consideration rating dropped from 21% to 16% on common from 2024 to 2025.

Opponents Mercedes and BYD beat Tesla particularly on consideration and suggestion scores outdoors the U.S.

Tesla maintained a excessive loyalty rating of 90% within the U.S., nevertheless. Which means clients who already owned a Tesla automobile had been more likely to hold driving it over the following 12 months. However Tesla’s suggestion rating within the U.S. dropped from 8.2 out of 10 to 4.3.

Haigh stated Tesla’s declining scores and model worth are an indication that the corporate’s “pulling energy is weakening.” There is a threat, he stated, that “Tesla will not be capable of promote so many merchandise, and it will not be capable of promote at such excessive costs because it did earlier than.”

There have been troubling indicators already. Tesla’s deliveries for 2024 declined by about 1% to 1.79 million, though demand for battery electrical automobiles elevated worldwide. Within the U.S. Tesla’s, market share in EVs dropped to 49% from 55% a yr earlier, in response to information from Cox Automotive. 

Tesla’s model energy index rating, in response to Model Finance, has additionally dipped from simply over 80 to only beneath 65. The rating signifies how nicely a model is doing in comparison with opponents on intangible measures.

“Until Tesla can give you an entire vary of latest merchandise that may actually excite customers, and until they’ll mitigate a number of the antagonism attributable to their chief, they are going to be seen as previous their peak and can start to go down,” Haigh stated.

Measuring Musk

Musk hasn’t restricted his political exercise to the U.S. He has reportedly been in regular contact with with Russian chief Vladimir Putin, has praised and labored with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s Javier Milei and made public appearances with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

He not too long ago endorsed Germany’s far-right Various for Germany (AfD) get together, and pressured British officers to launch anti-immigrant Tommy Robinson, a convicted fraudster with a violent felony document, from jail.

On Monday, throughout his public remarks after Trump’s inauguration, Musk repeatedly used a gesture that historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, whose work focuses on fascism, described as “a Nazi salute and a really belligerent one.” Musk did not reply to requests for remark.

With regards to shopper attitudes, “There will be a small quantity that say, I actually do not care what they do. I simply need their product,” stated Haigh. “There are different gradations of people that care, proper by means of to those that say, I am not touching that product on precept.”

Tesla is exclusive within the tight affiliation between the corporate’s model and its chief.

With Tesla, “It is extremely clear who the CEO is, that this individual is in cost and their conduct will affect the corporate’s status,” Haigh stated.

Model Finance additionally evaluated different Musk-led manufacturers, together with X, aerospace and protection contractor SpaceX and, for the primary time, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web enterprise.

The general model worth of X dropped 26% to $498 million from $673 million, the agency estimated. Easy consciousness of the X model dropped from 2022, when the corporate was nonetheless often called Twitter, from 94% to 78% in the present day on a world stage. Earlier than Musk took over and renamed it, Twitter had a model worth of $5.7 billion in 2022.

The title change drove a part of the general decline, in response to Model Finance, however so did the lack of customers, advertisers and advert income.

“Twitter was very well-known, very well-liked and attracted a whole lot of promoting,” Haigh stated. “In a single day, when he modified it to X, in response to our information, that lowered the worth by about 75%. It went proper down and has continued to go down.”

For SpaceX, which Model Finance started to evaluate at first of 2024, the corporate’s model worth has elevated 11% to $3.8 billion. About 45% of individuals within the U.S. who responded to the survey had been aware of SpaceX, a excessive rating for an aerospace and protection firm.

The Starlink model, calculated individually from SpaceX, is valued at $2.4 billion, the agency discovered. That quantity is predicted to extend as the corporate continues so as to add new customers and present constantly larger income from month-to-month subscribers.

Model Finance will publish its Global 500 2025 research of the world’s Most worthy manufacturers on Tuesday at Davos.

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