Singer-songwriter Katy Perry is taking flak online after promoting Tesla’s Cybertruck less than a day before the company’s Q1 earnings call. The truck has drawn numerous unflattering headlines in recent weeks, with nearly 4,000 trucks currently under recall.
Amid the flurry of negative news, it appears that Perry is on damage control duty—though her post praising the Cybertruck has garnered mostly ridicule.
“thx for the delivery,” Perry wrote on X, tagging Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform and CEO of Tesla.
“#idol,” she added.
The recall order applies to vehicles manufactured from Nov. 13, 2023 until April 2024 due to defective accelerator pedal. Tesla is not aware of any crashes that have been caused by the defect, which causes the pedal to get stuck.
Last week’s recall comes after weeks of reports and viral videos of Tesla Cybertruck owner complaints, including one person saying it took five hours to reset his truck’s computer after going through a car wash and another person claiming he was only able to put 21 miles on his brand-new truck before it suffered numerous “critical errors.” Another person said he suffered a “catastrophic failure” with his truck’s steering and brakes—though he stated in a since-deleted post that he still loved Tesla and his truck.
While Perry’s promotion drew praise from a number of Tesla fans and Musk himself, a large portion of replies referenced the recall order and mocked the vehicle’s appearance.
“Make sure to check the gas pedal first, Katy,” quipped one person.
“Girl it’s recalled send it back!” warned someone else.
“ugliest vehicle ever,” another person wrote. “Also, if Elon is your idol, you need to re-evaluate your life choices.”
“Don’t put your kid in anything that guy sells,” wrote someone else.
“Dude how bad is this earnings call gonna be lol,” joked another user, referencing Tesla’s upcoming Q1 earnings conference call slated for after the market closes on Tuesday. Tesla’s stock has slid 42% since the beginning of this year amid issues with the Cybertruck and falling sales.
“this is the biggest sign i’ve seen yet that this thing must not be doing all that well,” concluded someone else.
Perry’s post has been viewed more than 9.3 million times thus far. Yet given Musk’s dropping popularity due to his continual flirtation with conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic content on X, it appears unlikely that any pop star will be able to reverse the company’s downward spiral.
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