SHOULD BLACKS BUY A TESLA?
A racist South African.
That's how some describe Elon Musk.
Musk is no stranger to constraversial statements.
His variety of controversial posts, retweets regarding race, diversity, and thoughts on American slavery and immigration are well known.
Even people of the Jewish faith aren't spared his wrath. Musk claimed that Jewish communities were pushing "dialectical hatred against whites."
His contentious comments continue with his belief in the "great replacement theory", as well as his criticisms of DEI initiatives.
Not to mention his lineage with boer atrocities in south Africa.
Since taking over X(twitter) there has been a surge in hate speech. Particularly racial slurs.
And algorithmic changes that disproportionately affect Black creators. The platform fosters a noticeably hostile environment that has pushed many Black users to simply leave.
Back in the 90s a rumor persisted via an email boycott campaign around Tommy Hilfiger saying that if he had known minorities were going to wear his clothes he wouldn’t have made them “so nice” and that he wished they wouldn’t wear them.
Which was strange because Blacks were the face of his brand. The models and spoke persons were black. So was the music and culture that represented his clothing line.
But the rumor stuck. And his brand suffered greatly as a consequence.
But Musk enjoys a huge advantage that Hilfiger did not. When you think of Tesla, you do not think of black people. Tesla is not represented by black people or their culture like Hilfigers was.
As of 2026 Black Americans make up approximately 2% of Tesla buyers and owners.
Not because of musks racial views but because of charging barriers or simply can't afford one.
So if blacks did boycott Elons brand based on his racial views or to show solidarity with Black South Africans, it wouldn't effect his bottom line anyway.