Elon Musk’s high-profile involvement in politics could be turning prospective EV buyers towards new entrant Chinese brands rather than Tesla, according to JudgeService research which polled 1,000 buyers.
Two-thirds of car buyers said Musk’s political activity has made them less likely to consider buying a Tesla, while 13% said it did not make a difference. Research found 37% would consider a new Chinese brand for their next car, with 33% saying they would not and 27% undecided.
Neil Addley, MD of JudgeService, said: “Elon Musk’s activism, as part of the Trump administration and his views on the politics of other countries, appears to be having a negative effect on Tesla’s brand equity. It seems not all publicity is good publicity after all.
“While Tesla’s falling sales in the UK and Europe can be attributed to an ageing model line-up, our research shows his outspoken views are also turning off prospective buyers.
“Conversely, BYD has a fresh line-up and has invested heavily in high profile sponsorships, including the Euros and TV advertising, to gain remarkable unprompted awareness in such a short space of time.
“This raises the question of which carmakers will prospective Tesla buyers turn to? Our research found nearly four in 10 buyers will consider a new Chinese entrant for their next car with Polestar and BYD emerging as high-profile contenders.”
BYD had the highest unprompted awareness, with 28% polled able to name it when asked to list Chinese brands they were aware of.
Polestar had the highest prompted awareness at 45%, with BYD a close second (42%).
MG came third at 39% followed by OMODA and JAECOO (7%) and GWM Ora (6%).
