The latest Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report suggests that Tesla is in desperate trouble. Here are its major focus points:
Elon Musk’s government tenure and split with Trump have significantly damaged consumer perceptions of both him and Tesla. This has led to a notable decrease in consumer favorability toward Musk (net -26) and Tesla (net -27), particularly impacting purchase likelihood for Tesla EVs (net -32).
Tesla’s brand positivity is broadly declining across partisan lines, with no clear recovery in sight. The “Trump-Musk feud” has specifically undermined Republican positivity for the brand, leaving Tesla with a -10 net positive view among all consumers, the lowest we’ve ever recorded.
There is substantial public support for government intervention regarding Elon Musk’s companies and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.
Consumers support ending government contracts with Musk’s companies by 10 points, and there’s overwhelming support for stricter FSD advertising rules (net +58) and mandatory accident reporting to NHTSA (net +77).
Public concern about Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology is high, especially following a recent fatality. A strong majority of consumers (net +48) support banning FSD technology until it can be proven safe and support requiring all FSD vehicles to use radar and LIDAR (net +49), rather than Tesla’s camera only system.
In an email to CleanTechnica, Jeff Coote of EVIR said, “Tesla’s favorability just cratered 27 points. Purchase intent? Down 32. It’s now the only major EV brand underwater across every demographic — Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, urban, rural. There’s no safe harbor left. The backlash is bipartisan and bleeding into the full self-driving future Musk has bet the company on.
“Huge majorities want the government to block Full Self Driving until it’s proven safe. Two thirds support mandating tech Tesla refuses to use, like radar and lidar. The political subplot’s not helping. The split with Trump, the subsidy threats, the talk of denaturalization … it’s all feeding into consumer distrust.”
Tesla Opinions Matter
Okay, this is just a poll, and, when you come right down to it, these are nothing more than opinions that are worth precisely what you paid for them. But opinions can move markets, and that is ultimately the risk Tesla is facing. “Tesla and Elon Musk are in clear trouble following the public split with Trump,” the report says. For those who have been living in a cave for the past few days, Elon has blasted the Big Beautiful Bill Congressional Republicans have put together after much haggling and horse trading.
Elon is bitterly opposed to that legislation and is threatening (loudly) to primary any member of Congress who votes for it “if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” He also says he will start a third political party called the America party, which really frosts my shorts, as that is the name I have chosen for the political party I have wanted to create for several years now. I am more than fed up with feckless Democrats (Merrick Garland, for example) and ruthless Republicans (Mitch McConnell) who continue to flog the “trickle down economics” myth 30+ years after Ronnie Rayguns proved it was a lie. But I digress.
Open warfare has broken out between the two men. According to The Daily Beast, in remarks to the press on July 1, the failed president of the Untied States said he will examine whether he can deport Elon Musk. When asked whether he could remove Musk from the US, he replied: “I don‘t know, we’ll have to take a look.” Trump also said he might sic the so-called Department of Government Efficiency on Musk to help save the government from paying subsidies to Tesla and SpaceX.
I don’t want to apply for membership in the fortunetellers of America, but I have been telling people for weeks that Musk could find himself stripped of his citizenship and shipped back to Pretoria if the nastiness between himself and the leader of the free world continued to escalate. The failed president has made a career of never backing down. In a dick measuring contest between himself and Musk, Elon will be the loser.
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies, but Elon is very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated,” Trump added. In response, Musk wrote on his private antisocial media channel, “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.” Mark that down, boys and girls. This the first known instance in history of Musk practicing restraint. Stop the presses!
The Future Of Autonomous Driving Is On The Line
Perhaps the most significant part of this whole schlamozzle is the future of autonomous driving in the US. It seems pretty clear that Tesla Full Self Driving is not ready for prime time. See Zachary’s story about a Tesla Model Y that decided to take a ride on the Reading Railroad and was hit by an oncoming train.
People get apoplectic whenever we say anything negative about Tesla and FSD, but the truth is, my robot vacuum cleaner does a better job of navigating than FSD does. I own a Model Y but refuse to let the car drive itself for fear it will steer itself onto the train tracks near my home used by Brightline trains that shuttle passengers back and forth between Miami and Orlando.
Just a few weeks ago, Elon used his clout with the current administration to severely limit the conditions under which the company was required to report incidents involving FSD to the federal government. Now the government might not be so inclined to look the other way when Teslas crash into things because Elon is too pigheaded to include radar or lidar in Tesla vehicles.
EVIR points out that “there is strong public support for stricter government oversight of Tesla’s FSD technology, including calls for banning it until proven safe and mandating radar/LIDAR use.” A different attitude from regulators could create a major headache for Tesla, it says.
Elon Gets Back To Work
Tesla supporters are delighted that Elon might actually take an active interest in Tesla once again. EVIR says its survey shows that “consumers across partisan lines overwhelmingly support Elon Musk’s decision to leave government and return to his role at Tesla. 80% of consumers overall support Musk’s decision, including 90% of Democrats, 82% of independents, and 69% of Republicans.
“Musk’s time in government appears to have damaged both his and Tesla’s image with consumers. A majority (51%) of consumers hold less favorable views of Musk as a result of his time in government, including 54% of independents. Meanwhile, consumer perceptions around Tesla have also soured, with 37% of respondents holding less favorable views of the brand in the wake of Musk’s stint in government.”
The upshot is that Elon’s frenetic, drug induced foray into politics has done major reputational damage to himself and to Tesla, as well as the dozens of other ventures he is involved in. He could hardly have done worse if he tried. The question now is, can he get his mojo back? Anything is possible, but he would have to stop being a drug addled jackass and start acting like an actual human being. Frankly, there is nothing in his past that suggests such a thing is possible. Hasta la vista, Elon. It’s been painful watching you self-destruct like one of your rockets.
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