It’s been widely speculated that Elon Musk’s right-wing political activities have had a deeply depressive effect on his company’s bottom line. In the midst of his turn to the right (a journey that has included supporting Donald Trump’s campaign for president and then working for Trump as part of his administration’s DOGE initiative), his crown jewel, Tesla, has suffered from an unfortunate slump in sales numbers . Now, economic researchers believe they’ve found concrete proof that Musk’s political activity over the years has led to a loss of interest in his company.

A new study published this week by researchers with Yale University and the National Bureau of Economic Research claims to have identified a “causal effect of Musk’s partisan activities on Tesla sales.” You might think tha

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