After climbing Tesla’s S Tesla model, President Trump undertook to buy one. The next day, the presenter of the Fox News, Sean Hannity, said he had purchased a Plaid Model S to support the shitty company, saying that a Tesla “has more American parts of any other cars made in our country”.
In a repercussing of the reciprocne against the tactics of the Department of Efficiency of the Government of Elon Musk, the main conservatives are gathering on the side of the electric automotive company led by Mr. Musk. They hope to swing quite consumers similar to compensate for a boycott of the electric car manufacturer from liberals and democrats or by anyone who is offended by the actions of Mr. Musk.
But how effective such a rescue mission can be? Analysts say that it can help but only to a certain extent.
So many democratic buyers seem to escape from Tesla that even the best sales step of Mr. Trump is unlikely that woos quite new customers to fill the void, the car experts said. JPMORGAN analysts provide that Tesla will deliver its smaller cars in the first quarter compared to three years.
“When you make your product unattractive for half the market, I promise you, you will not increase your sales,” said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, a research and automotive consultancy company.
Edwards has examined car buyers for decades. Since 2016, the polls have discovered that electric cars owners had up to four times more likely to identify democrats or liberals to be identified as republicans or conservatives. Among the owners of Tesla, the spread was constantly by two to one.
The gap was abruptly limited until 2024. This year, since sales have decreased, slightly more buyers of Tesla identify themselves as republicans than the Democrats, at 30 percent against 29 percent.
“Democrats are fleeing the brand and say they will not consider it in the future, so there is of course a greater percentage of republican and independent buyers,” said Edwards.
He said that the Democrats started losing interest in Tesla when Mr. Musk bought Twitter, now X, in 2022. So, last July, when Musk publicly supported Mr. Trump, the share of Democrats who said they would certainly “consider” a Tesla fell by half.
Overall, about 8 % of the car owners would now certainly consider a Tesla, according to the polls of Mr. Edwards. This confronts 22 % five years ago, when Tesla often exceeded the rankings of luxury brands that buyers would consider.
Tesla’s sales sliding, he said: “They are mainly, if not completely, attributed to Elon Musk’s statements and behavior”.
The car manufacturer did not respond to a commentary request.
Tesla is by far the brand of best -selling electric vehicles in America with about 44 percent of the market, despite a 5.6 percent drop in US sales, to about 634,000 cars in 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book. Many drivers are determined to remain with the pioneer of the electric vehicle, whose cars can travel several hundred miles with a charge and can be easily supplied with fuel in the company’s vast charging network.
Josh Anders, 44, exchanged a petrol sports utilization vehicle for a Tesla Model 3 in 2019. A resident of Fort Wayne, Ind. Soon he exchanged for another and is about to take over the last SUV Model Y
“Owning a Tesla was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I’m attacking it,” Anders said. “I would like to a River’s R1, but I can’t afford it. I am a technological boy and I love all the characteristics and innovations. “
Anders, father of four people and creative director of a Christian organization of music and art non -profit, said he was leaning conservative and is uncomfortable with boycott.
“Elon is not perfect and Tesla is not perfect, but it is a community of dreamers and doors. I appreciate a brand that constantly pushes the boundaries, “he said.” I don’t need every company to share my beliefs. I just need to share a commitment to progress. “
However, cars have a long history to become part of the political fray.
The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid introduced in 2011 after General Motors received the assistance of the federal government, was derided by some conservatives such as “Obamacar”. The Toyota Prius was for fuel and the hummer riding GM’s gas were often praised and attacked by people at the opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Isaac Seliger, an entrepreneur and writer of Grant in Scottsdale, in Arizona, said he had little interest in electric vehicles even if his son, who died recently, was a devoted Tesla fan.
Now, said Mr. Seliger, who has described himself as politically independent, is determined to buy a Tesla, because he wants to challenge the thought and polarization of the group. A friend told him that he would stop talking to him if he did it.
“As a former left -handed boy and against war, all this makes me want to buy an extra Tesla,” said Seliger, 73 years old. “I will absolutely make a political declaration. But if I bought a Porsche Macan, this too is a declaration in which people throw you like a hateful Porsche pilot. “
Seliger added that he had found criticism from Mr. Musk exaggerated.
“So Elon was a hero of the left, and is he now a Nazi? He is simply crazy, “he said.” He hits me as an intelligent boy who does fantastic things. “
For many people who trust Tesla and Mr. Musk, the company sales and the price of the shares, which are falling by about 48 % from maximum December, will eventually recover. The stock has increased by 12 % in the last four days of negotiation.
But some automotive experts say that Tesla may have difficulty because the company has not regularly updated its cars or introduced new models. In addition, the company’s chargers, who could once only be used by Teslas, are opening access to almost all the main competitors, said Loren McDonald, head of analyst of Porec, a debit data company for electric vehicles. And other car manufacturers offer new electric models, often with considerably convenient monthly payments.
“He is rapidly losing the advantages in the scope, technology, value and convenience that brought people to Tesla,” said McDonald. “For many people, it’s time to go on and try something new.”
Of course, most buyers do not choose cars based on politics. But the image of a brand is important. Tesla sales have slipped even if the overall sales of US electric vehicles grew by 7.3 percent in 2024, to 1.3 million. Edwards said Mr. Musk was making it too easy for people to shop elsewhere.
“People can love their Hyundai, GM, Rivian or BMW just as many,” he said.
Republicans certainly acquire electric cars, but less than them have made me dive to fully electrical models. Rural states, where republicans are more numerous than democrats, have fewer chargers than more urban states. Strategic vision data show that republicans are more likely to work outside the home and are less willing to endure inconveniences such as long charging stops. And a 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that more republicans than those that Democrats say that electric vehicles cost too much and are less reliable than petrol cars.
In the metropolitan area of New York, the largest automotive market in the nation, the new Tesla recordings dropped by 13 %, to 47,000 cars, in 2024, according to S&P Global Mobility. In the same year, over 101,000 people recorded a Tesla in Los Angeles, the second largest market, a drop of 8 %. However, almost one out of eight new cars in Los Angeles was a Tesla. In the area of the Bay of San Francisco, where Tesla was founded, almost one in five new cars was a Tesla. But sales collapsed by 17 % to 54,000 cars.
Consumers in the Houston area purchased 12,000 Teslas. But the residents of the Bay Area have purchased 4.5 times Teslas, in a smaller market for new cars in general. Some areas have seen great increases, including Miami-For Lauderdale, where sales increased by 32 %, to almost 23,000 cars, in 2024. Tesla sales increased abruptly also to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and St. Louis. But the company’s earnings in these places have not been able to compensate for a steep drop in larger and liberal metropolitan areas.
Experts say that the rich conservatives such as Mr. Hannity and Mr. Trump have the income available to make a personal automotive declaration opting for a Tesla. But they may not be able to convince Americans with more modest means.
McDonald also noticed that Mr. Trump and other conservatives had spent years spread electric cars, deriding the climate change and criticizing the climatic and cars policies of the former president Joseph R. Biden Jr.
“Messenge is inconsistent,” said McDonald. “Is the Arkansas boy who leads a RAM pickup is about to buy a Tesla now? How far can you go against your beliefs to support Elon Musk? “