Elon Musk has become so toxic to Americans that he has tanked not just the popularity of Tesla but of all electric car manufacturers. According to a study by Williams College, the number of liberal voters who have expressed interest in owning an electric vehicle has plummeted into negative figures since Musk began his rightward turn, while conservatives continue to widely reject EVs in general. “The suspicion is that Elon Musk became so synonymous with EVs in the U.S. that perceptions of him affected the entire class of vehicles,” psychologist Alexandra Flores, who conducted the study, told Nature. “We thought that liberals would be pretty stable because EVs are so historically associated with the green movement and that Musk’s rightward turn would bring conservatives on board,” she added. “But the opposite happened—over time conservatives remained relatively steady in their lack of interest in EVs and Tesla, while liberals’ attitudes really dropped. They are now equally unlikely to buy an EV as they are a Tesla.” In California, Tesla has recorded a decline in sales for the seventh consecutive quarter, which broadly aligns with Musk’s conservative turn. Meanwhile, overall EV sales have dipped year-on-year in 2025, with the upcoming removal of tax credits likely set to further damage their popularity.
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