Tesla's reputation takes a nosedive in Germany, falling behind Temu and Nestlé in a recent study. The Finnish company Reputation and Trust Analytics' 'Reputation&Trust 2025' survey ranked Tesla last out of 30 companies in Germany, with a reputation score of 2.48, considered 'very bad'. This massive year-over-year drop of -0.77 points is the largest decline ever witnessed by the survey, which has been running since 2013. Tesla's poor performance is mirrored in other countries, including the Nordic region, where it ranked third-to-last in Sweden and Denmark, fourth-from-last in Finland, and fifth-from-last in Norway and Estonia. The survey's eight categories revealed Tesla's strengths in innovation and financial performance, but weaknesses in governance, working conditions, and corporate responsibility. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has been increasingly involved in politics, supporting neo-Nazis and making controversial statements, which have driven protests, embarrassed owners, and pushed customers away. This behavior has undermined Tesla's image as a sustainability pioneer, with a significant drop in reputation in Sweden, where Tesla hit a high-water mark of 3.88 in 2021, dropping to 2.43 in 2025. The study highlights the importance of staying out of politics, especially when it clashes with the majority of customers' views, and questions the reasoning behind Tesla investors rewarding Musk's controversial actions.
