Everyone hates Tesla except people who already own one

An abundance of bad news in 2024 hasn’t helped Tesla's brand perception among the general public. In fact, it seems the only Americans who have a positive view of Tesla are those who own one, YouGov data shows.

So far this year, Tesla has produced 47,000 more cars than it sold, causing the surplus to pile up in parking lots across the globe. First-quarter sales slid 9% from a year earlier, reflecting both the decline in deliveries and slashed prices, as the company contends with increased competition and slowing sales growth for electric vehicles generally. Its net income declined 55%, and its market cap — once over a trillion dollars — has fallen by more than half.

The company has also faced a number of high-profile recalls this year, including for its widely mocked Cybertruck. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk has been ingratiating himself with right-wing leaders and spreading misinformation on his social network, where climate skepticism and hostility proliferate. He’s also been dividing his attention and resources among his five other companies — all while urging shareholders to vote for his record pay package, which a judge already voided in January. 

All the above has likely contributed to the overall negative public sentiment about the Tesla brand, as shown by data provided by YouGov, which hosts long-running surveys of how Americans feel about brands regarding everything from their value to reputation. Positive numbers on YouGov’s index demonstrate a majority-positive view, while negative numbers show a majority-negative view. Tesla had a net-positive score until 2022, around the time Musk took over Twitter.

Still, that sentiment hasn’t seemed to have affected people who own Teslas. Their opinion of the company has remained high and even gotten more positive in recent years.

Of course, people generally have a more positive view of the thing they own. After all, they went ahead and spent tens of thousands of dollars on a car, so they obviously liked something about it. The thing is, there’s a much bigger gulf between public sentiment for the Tesla brand and its customers’ opinions than with other car manufacturers.

Tesla owners seem to like their cars about as much as owners of other brands do, but everyone else seems to hate them. Americans generally feel more neutral or positive toward other car companies. 

While public sentiment hasn’t appeared to sway those who already own Teslas, it could become a problem trying to get new people to buy them. That’s bad news for a car company already struggling with its sales.