I think word of mouth on the build quality is catching up. I just had dinner with some friends who have bought one recently and we're telling everyone at the table don't buy it: it's still being developed and is flawed.

I’ve thought and said that exact thing.

Well, the anti Musk hate definitely helped raise awareness on just how bad tesla build quality is, and the major problems with many of their features.

The cars themselves would have had major flaws that would still be deal breakers without Musk tanking his reputation. Difference is that more people know about them because of the dog piling that happened to anything Musk related as a direct consequence of his actions.