German drugstore chain Rossmann said on Tuesday it would no longer buy Tesla cars for its corporate fleet because of CEO Elon Musk's support for Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump, reports "Reuters", quoted by News.bg.
The drugstore chain, which is among Europe's largest, said its decision was effective immediately because of what it called an "incompatibility" between Musk's statements and the values that Tesla represents.
"Elon Musk does not hide his support for Donald Trump. "Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax, a position that is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars," said Raoul Rossmann, the son of Rossmann's founder.
Musk, Tesla and the Trump campaign have not commented on the statement.
Musk's stance on issues in the past has led companies to pull ads on his social media platform X, prompting fierce rebuke from the billionaire.
Rossmann, which operates more than 62,000 employees and more than 4,700 stores in Germany and other European countries, said it would continue to use its existing Tesla cars "for reasons related to sustainability and resource conservation".
The company did not respond to a request for comment from "Reuters" about the size of its corporate fleet or the number of Tesla cars it uses. Bloomberg reported that the company has 34 Tesla vehicles among its 800 vehicles.