"Tesla CEO Elon Musk's political crash out has been painful to watch. His public endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump and spearheading role in the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (which was linked to more than 280,000 layoffs) earned Muskand Teslaa negative reputation amongst left-leaning voters in the U.S. A new study by Yale scholars at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) reveals just how much of an impact that reputation had on Tesla's sales."
"The researchers analyzed EV registration trends across counties in the U.S. from 2020 until 2025, tracking sales across political lines during the time frame. Before 2022, Tesla sales were booming everywhere. But like clockwork, when Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and used it as a way to amplify his "free speech absolutism" and alliance with the Republican party, things started to go downhillespecially in blue counties."
County-level EV registration analysis from 2020–2025 tracked EV sales by political leaning. Before October 2022, Tesla sales were strong across counties. After Elon Musk purchased Twitter and publicly aligned with Republican politics and amplified "free speech absolutism", Tesla's reputation declined among left-leaning voters. The decline coincided with an estimated 1.0–1.26 million fewer Tesla deliveries in the U.S. from October 2022 to April 2025 (a 67–83% shortfall relative to expectation). Competing EV and hybrid makers gained sales, increasing by up to about 22% as buyers shifted away from Tesla.
Read at insideevs.com
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