Tesla Loyalty Collapses After Musk Endorses Trump originally appeared on Autoblog.
Tesla’s once-dominant brand loyalty has taken a nosedive — and the drop isn’t just steep, it’s historic. According to new data from S&P Global Mobility, Tesla retention fell from 73% in June 2024 to just 49.9% by March 2025, following CEO Elon Musk’s public endorsement of Donald Trump after an assassination attempt last summer. It was the first time in the company’s history that loyalty dipped below the industry average.
The collapse has since corrected slightly, reaching 57.4% by May 2025, but that’s still miles off the highs that once made Tesla the most magnetic brand in the EV space.
Political Fallout Meets Sales Reality
Musk’s political turn alienated many of Tesla’s early, left-leaning buyers, and with fresh competition piling in from all directions, they’re not exactly short on alternatives. The backlash was visible not just in press coverage and social media — but in the numbers. July brought more bad news from Europe, where Tesla sales fell dramatically in France, Denmark, and Sweden for a seventh consecutive month. In Sweden, sales dropped a staggering 85.8% year-over-year.
The brand is also struggling to sustain U.S. interest, where the ageing Model S and Model X have gone years without meaningful overhauls. Even the rumoured budget Model Y, reportedly stripped of features to meet a lower price point, has sparked concern rather than confidence.
The loyalty freefall coincided with an equally dramatic narrative shift: Tesla has gone from cultural disruptor to political flashpoint. This time last year, it was adding five new owner households for every one it lost. By early 2025, that ratio had halved.
Board Confidence Remains, But Consumers Are Wary
Despite the backlash, Tesla’s board is standing by its CEO. Just yesterday, the company awarded Musk a $29 billion stock grant to retain him through 2027 — effectively reviving a controversial pay package that had been struck down by the courts.
Investors may still believe in Musk’s vision for autonomy, AI, and next-gen mobility. But for consumers, the brand’s image is more fragile than ever. Grassroots protest groups like “Tesla Takedown” have sprung up in the U.S. and Europe, criticising the company’s political posturing and ethical blind spots. There have been reports of vandalism, boycotts, and showroom disruptions — all of which have dented the brand’s public image.
What’s Next For Tesla?
For now, the brand is holding onto a slim majority of repeat buyers, but the trajectory is unmistakable. Tesla once wrote the playbook on EV dominance. Now it’s playing catch-up on both technology and public trust. Analysts say the path to recovery lies not in politics, but in product: meaningful updates, new entries, and a renewed focus on reliability and value.
Musk still has the keys. But whether drivers want to go along for the ride — that’s another question entirely.
Tesla Loyalty Collapses After Musk Endorses Trump first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 5, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
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