From the essay

brands carve out a relatively narrow slice of brand-identity space and occupy it for decades. And the cultural imprinting model explains why. Brands need to be relatively stable and put on a consistent “face” because they’re used by consumers to send social messages, and if the brand makes too many different associations, (1) it dilutes the message that any one person might want to send, and (2) it makes people uncomfortable about associating themselves with a brand that jumps all over the place, firing different brand messages like a loose cannon.

I feel like the reputation of driving a Tesla, before and after turned his own image rightward, is an example of this. What used to be a conspicuous symbol of environmentalism and social conscience became a symbol of tech-bro hype and half-assery instead, almost overnight.