This is the most inexplicable part to me. The other are just sub-optimal business decisions, the sort of thing that happens.
But hyper-politicizing a major consumer product? I mean, even Michael Jordan observed "Republicans buy shoes too." Ford and Chevy and BMW and functionally every other auto maker don't tie the image and marketing of their products to a particular (and extreme and polarizing to boot) political ethos. Sure, there are political identities that identify more with particular products (I'm guessing that more Republicans buy Ford and Chevy trucks, and more dems buy Priuses and Accords), but the manufacturers wisely (well, actually, EASILY, because they don't get in that game to begin with) avoided having their products tied to a politically polarizing position. Elon....not so much. AND, he picked the dumbest group to cater to. Sorry, Elon....incels and blind fanbois aren't going to produce the sales figures you need to succeed.