Republicans, who have long eschewed electric vehicles (EVs) and the movement away from fossil fuels, have come to Tesla’s defense as it suffers financially and faces attacks tied to Musk’s work with the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, U.S. liberals and European buyers are taking out their frustrations over Musk and President Trump’s policies by getting rid of their Teslas and boycotting the company.
“It’s a little bit of a twilight zone for Tesla,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
Generally, more Democrats than Republicans buy EVs. A 2023 Gallup survey found that 6 percent of Democrats, 4 percent of independents and 1 percent of Republicans owned electric cars.
And just 1 percent of Republicans said they would seriously consider buying an EV in the future, compared to 12 percent of independents and 22 percent of Democrats.
Amid Tesla’s woes, Trump publicly purchased a Tesla earlier this month, praising the cars from the perch of the White House.
His supporters have also made public displays of affection toward Musk’s electric cars.
Despite the GOP show of support, Tesla’s brand has suffered in recent weeks from its close association with Musk as he has taken on a prominent and controversial role in the administration leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to slash government spending and the federal workforce.
Tesla’s stock price has nosedived, falling more than 40 percent since its peak in mid-December. The company has shed more than $500 billion in market value since the end of the year.
March represented the highest-ever level of trade-ins of Tesla vehicles recorded on car-shopping website Edmunds.
A total of 1.4 percent of the site’s trade-ins were Teslas, up from 0.4 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, research activity for Teslas on the website was also down to its lowest level.
However, Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’s head of insights, noted that due to the high cost of cars generally, most Tesla owners are still likely to hold onto their cars for the time being, even if they don’t like Musk.
“Unlike switching smartphone brands or streaming services, replacing a car is a major financial decision, and even the most disillusioned Tesla owners will likely hold onto their vehicles out of necessity,” Caldwell said in a statement.
Read more from Rachel and The Hill's Julia Shapero at TheHill.com.
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