Tesla’s Customer Loyalty Plummets After Elon Musk’s Support for Donald Trump

For years, Tesla (TSLA.O) ranked among the top U.S. automotive brands for customer loyalty, with a significant share of its buyers returning for repeat purchases. However, new data reveals that customer retention has dropped sharply following CEO Elon Musk's public endorsement of Donald Trump for president last summer.

The data, exclusively shared with Reuters by research firm S&P Global Mobility, had not been previously reported. According to their findings, Tesla’s customer loyalty peaked in June 2024, when 73% of Tesla owners who were in the market for a new vehicle bought another Tesla. This conclusion was drawn from analyzing vehicle registration data across all 50 U.S. states.

“I’ve never seen a decline this sudden,” said Tom Libby, an analyst at S&P. “The scale of loyalty loss is unprecedented.”

Neither Tesla nor Elon Musk has commented on the report.

On Monday, Tesla granted Musk 96 million shares, valued at approximately $29 billion, as part of a new compensation package following the court cancellation of his previous pay deal.

Analysts believe Musk’s political entanglements, especially his endorsement of Trump, have alienated environmentally conscious consumers who once formed Tesla’s core customer base. “If someone leans Democratic, they’re now more likely to consider alternatives to Tesla,” said Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar.

Adding to the challenges, competitors like General Motors (GM.N), Hyundai (005380.KS), and BMW (BMWG.DE) have caught up with Tesla in the electric vehicle (EV) space. Since 2020, Tesla has released only one new model—the triangular Cybertruck—which, despite heavy promotion by Musk, has underperformed in sales.

The decline in loyalty reportedly began in July 2024, soon after Musk endorsed Trump.

In an April 2025 earnings call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja acknowledged the negative impact of “vandalism and unreasonable hostility” against Tesla’s brand and employees. He also noted that production was temporarily halted to retool factories for the new version of the best-selling Model Y.

Musk, on the same call, downplayed demand issues, stating, “Apart from broader economic concerns, we are not seeing a decline in demand.”

However, sales data tell a different story. Tesla’s U.S. vehicle sales dropped 8% in the first five months of 2025, while sales in Europe fell by 33% in the first half of the year—amid intensifying public backlash over Musk’s political activities.