- Elon Musk’s foray into politics has made him far more unpopular with Democrats.
- He’s particularly turning off the buyers who say they’re most likely to get an EV.
- As a result, Tesla has the worst favorability to unfavorability ratio of any brand among buyers looking for an EV, per a new study.
Tesla’s chief executive has spent the last year alienating the people his company needs most, a new study from the nonprofit EV Politics Project Shows. Among buyers who say they are looking to buy an EV as their next vehicle, Tesla had the worst favorability ratings of any brand surveyed.
In the survey of 600 people, 20% said they were planning on buying an EV next. Of those, 37% had an unfavorable opinion of Tesla, with 63% reporting a favorable opinion. That doesn’t sound that bad outright, but note that Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen all score significantly higher on favorability and—importantly—far lower on unfavorability.
That’s important because it’s much harder to shake a negative view than it is to develop a positive one from a neutral position.
Notice how Elon Musk is unpopular with people who currently drive EVs. That’s pretty counterintuitive.
Photo by: EV Politics Project
The EV Politics Project describes itself as “a bipartisan effort to better understand the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats (and Independents) over electric vehicle adoption.” It is led by several academics and veteran political operators from both parties.
Their data is also surprising given that EV buyers should, in theory, be pretty pro-Tesla. The company essentially started the EV revolution, and is by far the largest EV manufacturer in the U.S. The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling EV in the world and, by some counts, the best-selling vehicle full-stop. It’s also a great car, as is the Model 3. The Cybertruck is, well, if you don’t have nice things to say… But broadly, Tesla’s cars are good, its charging network is great and its software is in a class of one. So why has public opinion shifted so heavily against the company, especially among its most crucial buyer base?
Blame politics. Yes, I know you hate hearing about it. Trust me, I’d rather not be writing about what’s going on. But we’ve seen survey after survey showing people getting increasingly frustrated with Musk’s pivot toward being a far-right power broker, especially the types of well-off, educated, left-leaning drivers that make up Tesla’s current customer base.
Most categories don’t inspire much animosity from either side. EV brands are the exception.
Photo by: EV Politics Project
Now, this pivot isn’t without benefits for Musk. He’s become far more favorably perceived on the political right. Yet the people who align with Musk’s politics are far less likely to care about climate change, or EVs, studies (including from this group) have shown.
Among those who had a favorable opinion of Musk in the EV Politics Project survey, only 23% agreed that “Climate Change is real and EVs can help.” And while they may like Musk, 48% of Republicans surveyed reported unfavorable opinions of EV brands overall. Among Democrats, only 13% had an unfavorable view of EV brands.
Photo by: EV Politics Project
After a decade of positioning his brands against climate change and the fossil fuel lobbyists, Musj has now pulled a 180, throwing all of his money and weight behind a politician with endless criticism for EVs and who has called climate change a hoax. Moreover, President Trump’s industrial and environmental policies are all but certain to slow America’s progress in the electric race. While Musk has said that losing EV tax credits, as Trump aims to do, will benefit Tesla over time, it’s not exactly clear how that would happen when public opinion has shifted so strongly against him.
It’s no wonder Musk’s current vibe is turning off EV buyers. There just aren’t that many people who both want to purchase an EV and simultaneously support a platform based on increased drilling, decreased environmental regulations and the revocation of subsidies that make those EVs cheaper. None of that’s surprising.
Contact the author: mack.hogan@insideevs.com
So why does it matter to you, someone who probably comes here to read about EVs more than politics? Because Tesla is the biggest player in this game, and Musk’s pivot comes at a seriously inopportune time for the company. Its sales were down last year for the first time ever. The Cybertruck has not moved the needle for it really. The Model Y refresh was received with a murmur. And the company has already pulled out all of the stops to stimulate demand. It’s cut prices, updated the core products and piled generous incentives on to juice the numbers. Still, they fall.
How can Tesla arrest this decline? Well, the affordable models that the company has promised will surely help. But that will require the discipline and focus to launch them effectively, the institutional competency to do so without quality issues and a broad buyer pool of consumers that are happy to buy Tesla products. Elon’s attempt to bend the federal government to his will certainly has advantages for him, but it won’t help with any of those three issues. In fact, it’s making most of Tesla’s problems a hell of a lot worse.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
