Elon Musk’s political shift has driven liberals away from Teslas and EVs overall, contrary to researchers’ expectations.
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Liberal-leaning Americans are less likely to purchase any kind of electric vehicle
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because of their perceptions of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a new study published in the journal Nature
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Because of Musk's political behavior, left-leaning individuals are now not only less willing to buy Teslas, but also other electrical vehicles in general
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according to the study. Researchers from several U.S. universities tracked how people's political
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beliefs influenced their opinions of Tesla, Musk, and electric vehicles in general over a two-year
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period between 2023 and 2025. The researchers thought liberals would continue to support EVs
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since they're typically associated with environmental values. They also expected conservatives to start viewing EVs, especially Tesla's, more favorably because Musk has become
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more aligned with right-wing politics. The results were surprising as researchers found that Musk
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ended up turning liberals off from EVs, so their interests started looking a lot like
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conservatives' lack of interest. Liberals became less interested in buying any electric vehicle
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Conservatives remain uninterested in electric vehicles, including Teslas, the study's authors found. The study cites a survey from early 2023 in which conservatives said they were not interested
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in buying either a generic EV or a Tesla. Liberals who responded to the survey still
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liked EVs in general and were open to buying one, but they were much less interested in buying a
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Tesla specifically. By March 2025, conservatives' views stayed the same. They were not very interested
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in Teslas or electric vehicles in general. Liberals' views, however, got worse. Liberals
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became even more negative, not just with Tesla, but with the entire electric vehicle category in
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general. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. For more on this story, download the
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Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com
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