The Decline of Tesla

By: Joey Bunag ‘25 Contributor

Tesla—not the 20th century scientist, but the selfproclaimed pioneer of the electric car and the famous global conglomerate. From producing generators, solar panels, and the famous ecofriendly electric car, Tesla and their founder, Elon Musk, have truly become household names all around the world. Today, both Tesla and Musk continue to receive the same amount of attention they received in the past, although in a much more critical and negative manner than before.

Tesla’s 2022 stock performance was one of the worst of the year. With a 69% decrease in their stock price over the course of 2022, it can safely be said that 2022 was an absolute disaster for Tesla. But what brought about such a dismal performance? Well, many different circumstances contributed to Tesla’s current situation, but their performance can largely be owed to Musk’s management of Twitter, a larger tech company decline, and more competition.

Four months ago, Elon Musk engaged in one of the biggest deals of 2022: buying Twitter. However, the way in which Musk has managed Twitter for the past few months has drawn much criticism from the public. Using his newly bought social media giant, Musk has posted divisive memes, reinstated numerous offensive accounts, stopped paying rent for Twitter’s offices, and cut Twitter’s staff in half. Not surprisingly, Musk’s suspect actions have caused the public to detest Musk and turn away from his companies and products, Tesla included. Additionally, Musk may have had a role in bringing down his own company. His acquisition of Twitter drastically increased the company’s debt, so in order to resolve this, Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla stocks while they were on the decline, therefore decreasing confidence in the company and causing other investors to do the same.

Tesla’s dismal performance can also be credited to a larger decline in the tech industry. Tesla, although they are known for their vehicles, is categorized as a technology company, and their specific industry has been hit particularly hard over the past year. To put it into perspec- oratory in California blasted a small diamond crystal containing hydrogen atoms with 192 lasers. The lasers destroyed the crystal, allowing x-rays to pour into the hydrogen that was contained inside the crystal. This reaction applied large amounts of pressure on the hydrogen atoms, eventually resulting in the release of neutrons, signaling a fusion reaction. Although the reaction consumed 2.05 megajoules of energy, the reaction was able to release 3 megajoules, about 1.5 times more than it consumed. Although they will not happen in the near future, the success with the fusion reaction could mark future uses for fusion reactions, such as a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels for society. tive, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Alphabet all lost a total of $3.7 trillion over the course of 2022. Based on the down-performance of so many technological giants, it can be safely inferred that the whole technology industry is on the decline, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that Tesla is a part of that broader movement as well.

Finally, the last major reason for Tesla’s decline is the increase in competition. Back when Tesla was founded in 2003, they were the only company with the goal of making electric cars. However, with the ushering in of newer technology and the worsening of climate change, electric cars have begun to capture the attention of numerous other compa- nies, such as BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle company that sold nearly 3 times as many vehicles as Tesla. Moreover, companies like BYD sell their cars at cheaper prices than Teslas, which continue to be extremely expensive for many, thus making these other companies more appealing to budget-minded consumers. Overall, Tesla’s 2022 performance can be credited to Musk’s machinations, the decline of the tech industry, and stiffer competition. Tesla executives and investors will have to hope that 2023 is a revival year for the failing company, and that they can regain some of the global status and praise that they once so often received.