Marc Marquez rejects Elon Musk’s multimillion dollar MotoGP sponsorship

Highlights

• Marc Marquez has reportedly rejected Tesla’s sponsorship deal.
• Elon Musk-owned Tesla is a leader in EV vehicle sales.
• Marquez has concerns regarding EV battery disposal and their impacts.

MotoGP legend Marc Marquez has reportedly rejected a huge sponsorship deal from Elon Musk-owned Tesla Motors. The electric car brand is one of the leading manufacturers of EVs, and they wanted to make the world zero carbon. Marc Marquez is the biggest star in MotoGP, and sponsoring him would help Tesla reach a wider audience.

Marc Marquez rejects Tesla sponsorship

But MotoGP is the pinnacle of bike racing, which uses fossil fuels. Marc has also expressed his concerns about the long-term environmental sustainability of electric vehicles. The Spanish rider has concerns about the disposal of harmful battery waste from EVs. So, endorsing Tesla on his shirt will contradict his personal values, which he believes are actually true. Marc Marquez has a habit of speaking from the heart, just like F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. 

He always stays committed to his words, and in Tesla’s case, he is a bit more confused. Marquez is said to have stated that “I race to inspire, not to confuse. If I wear your logo (Tesla), I’m endorsing a narrative I’m not fully convinced by.” Marquez is on his way to reach glory to clinch his seventh MotoGP world title this year. He leads the championship battle against his brother, Alex Marquez and teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Rejecting Tesla’s multimillion-dollar deal is not new for Marquez, as he always states that he doesn't race for money. 

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He prioritises principles over money, and one of the great examples is his rejection of the multi-million dollar contract from Monster Energy after moving into the Ducati Factory Team. The American energy drink manufacturer's direct rival is Red Bull, which sponsored Marquez since his junior days. After switching to the Ducati racing team, he had to leave his sponsor, because Monster Energy is the official energy drink sponsor for the Italian racing team. 

Out of respect to Red Bull, he refused to keep the Monster Energy logo on his Ducati shirt, even though he accepted the logo to be kept on his Ducati GP25 bike. Many praise Marc Marquez for keeping his stand because we still don't have complete clarity regarding EVs’ future and environmental impacts. And MotoGP bikes are high-speed racing machines that burn fossil fuel at a very high rate. We can understand why Marc Marquez took this stand.

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