Elon Musk’s Tesla fails to gain customer loyalty after backing Donald Trump’s presidency
Elon Musk’s Tesla fails to gain customer loyalty after backing Donald Trump’s presidency
For years, the electric vehicle brand had more repeat customers than other car makers
Elon Musk-owned Tesla’s customer loyalty has plunged since the CEO of the automotive brand endorsed US President Donald Trump last summer, the data from research firm S&P Global Mobility has revealed.
It peaked in June 2024, when 73 percent of Tesla-owning households purchased another Tesla, the S&P analysis of vehicle-registration data of all 50 states. surveyed. However, the industry’s leading electric vehicle (EV) brand’s loyalty rate came down drastically a month later when Musk endorsed Trump, following an assassination attempt on the Republican nominee, in Pennsylvania.
In March 2025, it reached 49.9 percent, which was below the industry average. This was after Musk launched Trump’s budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency in January and fired thousands of government workers.
It led Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar, to remark, "If they have Democratic leanings, then perhaps they consider other brands in addition to Tesla.”
Similarly, Tom Libby, the S&P analyst, termed it ‘unprecedented’, seeing the runaway leader’s massive decline in customer loyalty.
The timing of Tesla's plunging brand loyalty suggested that Musk’s involvement in politics turned off customers in the EV pioneer's eco-conscious customer base.
In May, however, Tesla's U.S. loyalty rate was 57.4 percent, placing it back above the industry average and about the same as Toyota, but behind Chevrolet and Ford.
Meanwhile, Tesla has granted Musk 96 million shares worth $29 billion. The purpose is to keep the billionaire entrepreneur at the helm as he fights a court ruling that voided his original pay deal for being unfair to shareholders.
