When it comes to Tesla, Americans are living in different universes.

Tesla customers overwhelmingly get good news about Elon Musk's EV maker. Others, not so much

It’s pretty unusual for a car company to truly be divisive; outside of labor strikes or the occasional scandal or recall, they’re generally not something to be fought about at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Tesla, as usual, is the exception.

 

recent poll from YouGov found that Tesla owners have heard very different things about Elon Musk’s automaker than non-owners. However, that isn’t changing anyone’s mind about purchasing one of its electric vehicles.

The market research firm’s BrandIndex survey tracks how Americans feel about popular brands, measuring their results as “buzz.” YouGov’s researchers ask whether respondents have heard more positive or negative things about a brand over a few weeks. That includes mentions from media sources and discussions with friends and family.

Tesla’s “Buzz” scores remained consistently negative in 2023, averaging at a -7.1 among all U.S. adults, meaning that Americans are hearing more bad things than good about the company. As of April 30, the buzz score stands at -4.5, its highest point since last October.

But if you’re a Tesla owner, your perception is very different. Current customers averaged a 61.8 last year and, as of April 30, are at 68.5, meaning they overwhelmingly heard more good than bad things about Tesla.

That’s likely because of the type of media diet that Tesla customers prefer compared to most of America. There are thriving ecosystems online where Tesla owners chat about the company, including forums hosted on and off Reddit or X, formerly known as Twitter. They might also visit websites dedicated to news about Tesla or electric vehicles, such as Teslerati or InsideEVs.

More casual observers might visit more mainstream news outlets or see their posts on social media, many of which are likely to be negative.

Here’s a sampling of some negative news that’s hit Tesla since April 30, when YouGov’s survey closed: U.S. auto safety regulators opened a new inquiry into Tesla’s Autopilot after closing a prior probe; Tesla’s sales in China dropped in April; the Department of Justice is evaluating whether Musk and Tesla’s statements about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving constitute securities or wire fraud; layoffs have continued in both the U.S. and China, and Tesla has axed thousands of open jobs worldwide.

Plus, a smattering of bad news has hit the Cybertruck electric pickup, ranging from warranty issues to owners breaking their finger testing its “frunk.” Oh, and activists rushed to Tesla’s factory in Germany last week to protest its expansion plans.

That’s all in less than two weeks. Dozens, if not hundreds, of additional stories have been written about Tesla this month, both negative and positive, across the world.

However, YouGov found that Tesla sales aren’t likely to be affected by the chatter. Seven in ten current customers said they would consider buying another Tesla EV in 2023. And although Tesla’s lead is shrinking, it is still the “global champion” for online car sales, according to BearingPoint.

On average, just 7.7% of all U.S. adults said they would consider buying a Tesla last year, with scores slightly fluctuating from quarter to quarter. For example, the lowest consideration score for all adults was 7.2% in the January to March period, while the highest consideration was 8.1% during the April to June quarter.


Kijana YaAtwoli

122 Blog posts

Comments