News
Elon Musk’s detractors need to stop the character assassination
Elon Musk’s detractors, especially those working in the mainstream media, need to stop the character assassination.
As a writer, I feel that we should not use our positions to tear down individuals just because we may not like them. And this, I believe, is what many in the mainstream media are doing.
The WSJ article, to me, seems like character assassination
The recent article published in the Wall Street Journal claiming that Elon Musk had an “alleged affair” with the wife of Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, is what I think is one example of a character assassination attempt.
Yeah, the character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers.
I work crazy hours, so there just isn’t much time for shenanigans.
None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Although I shared my thoughts about this, it’s been over a day now and I find it incredibly disturbing that many in the media seemed to not care about the truth. Even after Elon Musk shared a photo of himself with Sergey Brin on friendly terms, taken after the supposed falling out.
Character assassination over truth
It seems that the collective hatred of Elon Musk takes priority over the truth. What I mean by this is that many people seem to not care about the facts. The facts are that Elon Musk wrote that this incident never happened and he showed photographic proof of his friendship with Sergey Brin.
Yet these unknown sources that WSJ cited didn’t even have any photographic evidence. Or if they did, they kept it to themselves for whatever reason and I doubt this is the case.
And although the majority of the reports have been either revised or updated, the damage has already been done.
Elon Musk Warned Of This
Elon Musk warned that this would happen. No, not that the WSJ piece itself would happen, but he did say that there would be political attacks on him that will escalate dramatically in the coming months.
Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022
Although this attack on him over his personal life isn’t political, there have been many other character assassination attempts on Elon Musk over the past several years. And these attempts influence the average person.
Whether it’s on TikTok, Facebook, or in person, people seem to think that Elon Musk is a bad person. I’ve had friends disown me over my support for him and tell me that I am a bad person. Or that I’ve lost touch over a “billionaire who doesn’t care about you.”
For someone who doesn’t care about me, Elon sure cared when I told him I was nervous when I met him. You can listen to what he said to me in the tweet below.
Short & sweet sound bite from my interview with Elon that won’t be in the podcast.
I was nervous and he was opening fudge I got him from Buccees (hence loud paper sounds)
He wanted to feed @GailAlfarATX and me lol.
Elon is so nice. Good ppl. pic.twitter.com/tbWty5BoEe
— Johnna (@JohnnaCrider1) June 27, 2022
New level of character assassination attacks
Elon Musk pointed out that the character assassination attacks on him have reached a new level this year. This is true and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. He pointed out that the articles aren’t that important and regarding the WSJ article, none of the key people mentioned were even interviewed.
Yeah, the character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers.
I work crazy hours, so there just isn’t much time for shenanigans.
None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Elon shared another thought on Twitter about this.
He said that the amount of attention on him has gone supernova. He added that he will do his best to focus on doing useful things for civilization, which is a passion of his.
The amount of attention on me has gone supernova, which super sucks. Unfortunately, even trivial articles about me generate a lot of clicks 🙁
Will try my best to be heads down focused on doing useful things for civilization.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Elon Musk cares about humanity and civilization.
During my interview with Elon Musk earlier this month, he spoke fervently about helping people. We spoke about his work with the Musk Foundation, Starlink, and disaster relief. He shared that one key way to help with poverty is to improve literacy.
“Literacy and access to internet, I think, are fundamentally helpful. Really, we’ve got to think beyond the United States. There are billions of people who have no internet connectivity at all–nothing. Or it’s like a very low bandwidth and it’s insanely expensive. For many parts of the world, this is the case–billions of people.”
He spoke more at length about these topics and you can listen to our interview here.
The Character Assassination of Elon Musk needs to stop.
To be quite honest, I find it disturbing that so many in the media are consumed with hatred of Elon Musk to the point that they seem to have lost all of their senses. They complain about his “behavior” while not even acknowledging that most of the time, Elon is standing up for himself.
Elon Musk isn’t the type of person to let people just walk all over him or mistreat him. He fights back and his detractors don’t like this. This is why many of us in the Tesla community is referred to as a cult.
This is a tactic often used by many of Elon Musk’s detractors. They use these terms to dehumanize supporters so that our thoughts and opinions are rendered valueless.
This needs to stop.
Disclaimer: Johnna is a partial Tesla shareholder with under 1 share currently. She plans on buying more and supports Tesla and its mission.
If you have a tip, feel free to send them to johnna@teslarati.com
News
Ferrari Luce sold out for 2027 after design controversy
Ferrari’s first electric vehicle, the Luce, is fully sold out for 2027, according to CEO Benedetto Vigna.
Presenting third-quarter results, he stated: “Everything we plan to sell next year is already fully allocated. Client test drives, scheduled for next year, will help further boost demand. We have no critical issues, neither on manufacturing nor on the demand side. Obviously, the car is more complex because it has many new parts and many new technologies.”
First customer deliveries are expected before the end of 2026, with the model already commanding waitlists despite a turbulent debut.
The Luce is a five-seat, four-door liftback saloon—the longest Ferrari ever produced—powered by four electric motors producing approximately 1,035 horsepower.
It features an 800-volt architecture, a 122-kWh battery, a claimed WLTP range of around 329 miles, 0-62 mph acceleration in 2.5 seconds, and a starting price near €550,000 in Europe (roughly $560,800–$615,000 in the U.S. depending on configuration).
Developed in collaboration with Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s LoveFrom studio alongside Ferrari’s own Centro Stile, it represents a deliberate departure from the brand’s traditional mid-engine sports cars toward a more spacious, grand-touring format.
Its exterior has proven deeply polarizing. Unveiled in Rome in May 2026, the design features smooth, sweeping surfaces, a large glass roof, and restrained detailing that critics described as bland, generic, or more reminiscent of an Apple product or mass-market EV than a Ferrari.
Ferrari unveils its Luce EV, and its reception has been a disaster
Online reactions included memes comparing it to a Nissan Leaf or Polestar, while former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo publicly warned of “the destruction of a myth” and suggested the prancing horse logo be removed. Italian politicians and longtime owners joined the chorus of disappointment, and Ferrari’s shares dropped roughly 8% in a single day, erasing billions in market value.
Design experts noted the absence of the brand’s signature tension, aggression, and emotional drama.
Yet the controversy has not translated into weak demand among the ultra-wealthy clientele who actually buy Ferraris. Production volumes remain tightly limited, as reports suggest fewer than 500 units in the current year and a longer-term pace of roughly 600 annually through 2030, preserving exclusivity.
One early chassis sold for $40 million at auction. Vigna has indicated that seeing the car in person, along with upcoming client test drives, is expected to strengthen rather than weaken interest. Ferrari aims for fully electric models to comprise 20 percent of its lineup by 2030, with a second EV now delayed to 2028.
For a brand defined by scarcity and desirability, the Luce’s sell-out status suggests that among those who can afford it, the polarizing design has not proven to be a commercial liability.
Investor's Corner
Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX decline after Democratic Midterm sweep
Tesla and SpaceX shares fell on Wednesday after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress. The decline stood out as broader market securities recovered and turned positive, while both of Musk’s publicly traded companies lagged.
CEO Elon Musk already joked about the unsuccessful campaigning for the Republicans, but now the new party will make pretty drastic changes to how it handles Tesla and SpaceX, and those companies will adjust their outlook.
Let’s take a deeper look.
Tesla ($TSLA)
Tesla shares traded lower during the regular session after Democrats secured both the House and Senate. The stock was down 2.32 percent at around 1:45 p.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $389.30.
The pressure is tied to more than the raw scale of Musk’s political spending, estimated at $450–474 million this cycle with roughly $224 million directed at Texas. In that state, Tesla now faces a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator after Gina Hinojosa unseated Greg Abbott and James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton.
The Austin Gigafactory, Robotaxi pilot programs in multiple Texas cities, and any related AI compute expansion sit under a new state executive who campaigned against certain corporate subsidies and floated a moratorium on new data-center construction.
Federally, Democratic control of key committees opens the door to deeper examination of Tesla’s autonomous-driving safety record, federal energy-storage and manufacturing incentives, and the national-security implications of any combination with SpaceX.
Investors are also weighing whether the company’s historically close alignment with the prior Republican leadership will invite slower permitting, additional hearings, or tighter rules on Full Self-Driving deployment.
For Tesla, the political shift adds near-term friction around state permitting and federal regulatory approvals for autonomy and energy storage. A potential merger with SpaceX may face slower review even if it proceeds.
Core growth drivers such as vehicle deliveries, energy deployments, and robotaxi rollout remain intact, yet the stock now carries a higher political-risk premium that could weigh on valuation until the company demonstrates workable relationships with the new Texas leadership and congressional majorities.
SpaceX ($SPCX)
SpaceX shares also declined in live trading on November 4 following the Democratic midterm sweep. The stock traded at $134.97, down 4.49 percent. The drop occurred even as broader indexes stabilized, highlighting a company-specific reaction to the election outcome.
Musk’s large contributions, concentrated in Texas races that both companies lost, place SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility and headquarters under a new Democratic governor.
At the federal level, Democratic control of Congress enables greater scrutiny of NASA, the Department of Defense, and other contracts that support a meaningful share of revenue, along with reviews of Starlink national-security uses and any Tesla merger. Analysts have noted that empowered committees can hold hearings and request documents on these relationships.
For SpaceX, the results raise the risk of delayed contract awards, higher compliance costs, and tighter constraints on AI and satellite infrastructure expansion, particularly in Texas where a data-center moratorium has been discussed.
A merger with Tesla could encounter political friction that slows integration of launch, connectivity, and autonomy capabilities.
While Starlink growth and launch cadence continue as primary drivers, the company faces a more contested path for federal funding and state-level operations, requiring management to rebuild ties with the new congressional majorities and Texas leadership to limit the overhang.
News
Tesla registrations in Germany nearly quadruple in October
Tesla’s new vehicle registrations in Germany rose sharply in October, nearly quadrupling from the same month a year earlier. That’s according to data from the KBA, Germany’s federal motor transport authority.
The KBA reported 2,932 Tesla vehicles registered in October, a 290.9 percent year-over-year- increase. For the first ten months of the year, Tesla’s cumulative registrations reached 47,742 units. This number is up 206.1 percent compared with the January-October period of 2025. These gains occurred against a backdrop of strong overall growth in the BEV sector as a whole.
Germany registered 94,086 new BEVs in October, a 79.5 percent rise that brought the BEV share of the passenger car market to 37 percent of the 254,492 total cars registered that month.
🇩🇪 Tesla’s new registrations in Germany nearly quadrupled in October, according to KBA data.
October: 2,932 units, +290.9% YoY Jan–Oct: 47,742 units, +206.1%
Germany’s overall BEV market grew 79.5% to 94,086 units last month. https://t.co/GMwNqsFAOC
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 4, 2026
Despite the percentage surge, Tesla’s absolute numbers left it with a 1.2 percent share of all new car registrations for October. Chinese competitors did record higher volumes, as BYD registered 5,173 vehicles, a 2 percent share, Leapmotor with 3,661 cars, which equates to 1.4 percent, and Xpeng had a 0.5 percent share.
Year-to-date through October, BYD edged ahead of Tesla with 47,961 registrations versus Tesla’s 47,742.
The October results follow a notably strong September for Tesla in Germany, when it registered 12,552 vehicles, an increase of roughly 269 percent year-over-year and one of its strongest monthly totals on record in the country. That month, the Model Y led all EVs and ranked among the top-selling vehicles of any powertrain.
The figures form part of a broader recovery in Tesla’s European registrations after an extended period of softer demand. While monthly volumes remain subject to typical quarter-end patterns and competitive pressure from both established European brands and rapidly expanding Chinese manufacturers, the year-to-date growth indicates improved traction in Europe’s largest car market.
Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg continues to supply the region, positioning the company to capture a share of the expanding German BEV market as overall EV adoptions looks to be accelerating.