As Tesla's stock price plummets and sales figures decline sharply across global markets in early 2025, a critical question emerges: is the company suffering from an "Elon Musk problem"? The electric vehicle pioneer has experienced a staggering $400 billion decline in market value, with its CEO simultaneously taking on a highly visible and controversial role in American politics while making provocative statements internationally.

So how much of Tesla's recent troubles can be attributed to Musk's personality, his support for right-wing parties in Europe, and his management of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), or whether other factors better explain the company's challenges.

Welcome back to EV News Daily, and welcome to a special bonus edition of the podcast. I’m Martyn Lee, and I’ve been holding off talking about this for a while. But let’s get into it.