Belgian newspaper group Rossel joins Tesla-X boycott

Following the lead of individuals, several business leaders, and Hollywood celebs, Groupe Rossel, the Belgian media group behind the newspaper Le Soir and SudPresse, has announced it will no longer buy Tesla or use X because Elon Musk supports Trump.

“It seems incompatible to us to implement ESG principles and actions and continue to buy products from a company controlled by a person who opposes these principles. It is, therefore, a question of corporate social responsibility,” said Bernard Marchant, CEO of the company.

Toxic media platform

In doing so, Group Rossel is following the example of many other companies that are annoyed by the billionaire’s views and his closeness to Trump.

Last week, for example, the British quality paper The Guardian and the Spanish newspaper La Vanguarda announced they would no longer post content on their accounts on the social networking site X, formerly Twitter.

“The campaign for the US presidential election has only underscored what we have long thought: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use his influence to shape political discourse,” the British newspaper said. The Guardian had a presence on X with several accounts until now, with the primary account @guardian having 10.8 million followers.

Musk bought X, then known as Twitter, for 44 billion dollars in 2022, reinvigorating the platform’s free speech that he claimed had been impeded by its ‘liberal’ management. But because of the pull to the right, several companies have stopped advertising on X, and users are dropping out.

According to Similarweb, over 116,000 people in the US deactivated their X accounts the day after the election – the most US deactivations in one day under Musk, just because he also endorses right-wing conspiracy theories and shares some racist ones.

25% fewer Teslas sold in California

The boycott struck a sympathetic chord among many left-leaning or ecological fans of Tesla, the brand created by the billionaire. For example, the German pharmacy chain Rossmann announced in the summer that Tesla cars would no longer be ordered. In doing so, it followed in the footsteps of other companies such as Hertz, Sixt, and software giant SAP.

However, this trend is also emerging in the US. In the past three months, Tesla has sold 25% fewer cars in California, where the EV market is increasing. California market research shows that the number of Americans considering a Tesla has dropped 50% since 2022.

In other words, Musk is exasperating his customers, or as Dutch car magazine Autovisie succinctly sums it up: Democrats buy EVs, Republicans don’t. Tesla drivers can now purchase bumper stickers online saying, “I bought this car before we knew Elon was nuts.”

Capitalizing on support

Musk probably won’t care about any of this. Since the bromance between him and Trump, some even call him the new ‘Elonia, who may play the ‘first lady’ in the second Trump administration, a nod to Trump’s wife, Melania.

The tech businessman spent about 200 million dollars to help Trump win his second presidency, setting a new standard for how billionaires can influence elections. Meanwhile, President-Elect Trump has assigned him a new “government efficiency” department. Musk, who already receives billions of dollars in government funding, is expected to capitalize even more on his support.

For example, the US government has multiple contracts with SpaceX, Musk’s space company that launches satellites, among other things. Yesterday, Trump also announced that his new administration would prioritize a new regulatory framework for fully self-driving cars.

It would be to Tesla’s advantage if the new rules would allow cars to drive without human control. Musk is betting heavily on self-driving cars, even without steering wheels or pedals. In response to the news coverage, Tesla shares shot up 8% on pre-dawn trading. Since the US election results, shares have already gained 28%.