There will no longer be any new Tesla cars in the Rossmann drugstore chain’s fleet. But other German companies are also extremely critical of Tesla and Elon Musk.
This is original content from the Capital brand. This article will be available for ten days on stern.de. After that, you will find it exclusively on capital.de. Capital, like the star to RTL Germany.
The drugstore chain Rossmann publicly announced on Tuesday that it no longer wants to purchase Tesla vehicles for its own fleet. This means that Rossmann is not the first company to turn against Tesla and it will probably not be the last.
As research by Capital shows, other German companies have already turned their backs on the US manufacturer.
dm also not enthusiastic about Tesla
Rossmann’s direct competitor dm, for example, responded to Capital’s inquiry by saying that they recently had three Teslas in their fleet on a trial basis. “Regardless of the current reporting, we have long since decided against adding any more Tesla vehicles to our fleet,” says Martin Dallmeier, member of the management board at dm. The company has not commented on the extent to which the attitude of company boss Elon Musk plays a role in this.
The food and organic supermarket brand Alnatura also does not want to purchase Tesla cars and does not currently have any vehicles from the American manufacturer in its fleet. At the outdoor equipment supplier Vaude from Lake Constance, the majority of the e-vehicle fleet already consists of brands other than Tesla. Vaude also informed Capital that they decided against Tesla for their new order in April 2024. “We are continuously evaluating our partnerships along the supply chain and will continue to examine Tesla very critically,” the company writes.
According to the Center Automotive Research, there are 170,000 Teslas registered in Germany, of which around a third are registered to companies, although these are more likely to be self-employed people than corporations. This is probably mainly due to the poor conditions that Tesla offers corporate customers.
The software company SAP justified its Tesla expulsion in February with the carmaker’s unstable prices and has not changed its stance now, a spokesperson said in response to a Capital inquiry. “The selection of the brand portfolio in the SAP fleet is a strategic business decision,” it said. “We have a diverse and attractive manufacturer and model portfolio that we continuously review and adapt.” In Germany, Tesla was not on offer anyway, and worldwide Tesla made up less than two percent of the fleet, which includes almost 30,000 vehicles.
Umweltbank and GLS Bank view X critically
Other German companies that strive to have a sustainable image are more cautious with specific information. Deutsche Bank and Siemens did not want to comment on individual manufacturers when asked by Capital. Siemens simply points out that it has “several vehicle manufacturers on offer” in its company fleet.
The Umweltbank does not have its own fleet, but mentions that it is no longer active on the X platform “because we view the developments there very critically,” writes a spokesperson to Capital. GLS Bank sees things similarly, saying goodbye to X last year because the style of the network was no longer compatible “with the values of the social-ecological bank.”
The bank also announced in 2023 that Elon Musk’s statements and the network’s misconduct with regard to freedom of expression and populism were problematic for the bank. “Disinformation, anti-human and anti-democratic content, defamation and distortion of facts have found a place here that we do not accept,” said Rouven Kasten of GLS Bank.
As Capital learned, one Tesla is in the GLS Bank fleet out of a total of 15 electric vehicles. A spokesperson said that “the Tesla car is being evaluated based on quality, efficiency and sustainability aspects.” New purchases are not currently under discussion.
Source: Stern
