The study shows that self-identified Democrat consumers are breaking with the Tesla brand, while Republican consumers are starting to embrace it.
Elon Musk’s support of President Donald Trump in the 2024 election and subsequent role in his administration has led to a flight of Democratic consumer support for Tesla that could be harming the company’s bottom line, according to a new study co-authored by a Northeastern University faculty member.
The study shows that consumers who are self-identified Democrats are breaking with the Tesla brand, while Republican consumers are starting to embrace it. The analysis, which acknowledges that the politicization of brands is now a “global phenomenon,” seeks to document a “growing polarization of partisans’ perceptions of the Tesla brand” in the wake of Musk’s embrace of Trump.
“We do see a polarization of views of Tesla that is linked to specific events, like Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump in the summer of 2024,” says Costas Panagopoulos, distinguished professor of political science, and co-author of the study, which has been made available at the Social Science Research Network.
The brand defections are notable, Panagopoulos says, because existing data shows that Democratic consumer purchases of Tesla’s electric vehicles previously outpaced Republican purchases at a rate of 4-to-1.
Over the last several months, Tesla has lost roughly half its value after hitting an all-time high in December. The company reported a year-over-year sales decline of 1.1% for 2024, its first annual drop in a dozen years. Exactly how much that decline can be attributed to the noticeable shift in partisans’ attitudes toward the company remains to be seen, Panagopoulos says.
“But it’s not unrelated to Musk’s politics and the corresponding politicization of brands associated with him,” he says.
The researchers analyzed data from YouGov’s BrandIndex surveys as it pertains to consumers’ views of Tesla between Jan. 1, 2023, and March 6, 2025. The surveys queried consumers on everything from brand quality, value, employment reputation, purchase considerations and overall perception.
Researchers then evaluated how the views of self-identified Democrats and Republicans changed across several metrics during that two-year period.
They conducted a formal statistical analysis that measured changes in “brand index, reputation and purchase consideration” before and after Musk’s endorsement of Trump. Democrats’ likeliness to purchase moved slightly, from 9.1% to 8.9%, while Republicans’ moved from 7.0% to 10.2%. The biggest movements were linked to brand reputation, with Democrats swinging roughly 10 points in the negative and Republicans eight points upward.
The results indicate a sharp split along party lines, with support from Democratic consumers progressively declining and Republican support increasing after Musk’s embrace of Trump.
“Our analyses suggest the sales woes for Tesla in the aftermath of Musk’s endorsement of Trump likely reflect the fact that brand aversion by Democrats in late 2024 and early 2025 outpaced Republicans’ embrace for the electric vehicle carmaker,” the researchers wrote. “And while our analyses are restricted to self-identified Democrats and Republicans in the United States, these developments indicate brand politicization is a global phenomenon that transcends traditional geographic boundaries.”
Some observers suggest that a shift in Tesla’s brand perception could be seen as far back as 2022, when Musk purchased Twitter (now X).
With some Democrats abandoning the brand, can Tesla rebound with a positive movement from Republican consumers?
“It’s conceivable,” Panagopoulos says. “Part of that will depend on income levels, but also on consumer preferences.”
“It would be ironic for Republicans to start scooping up electric vehicles when they’ve historically been less supportive of views or activities that suggest an environmentally conscious consumer,” Panagopoulos says. “If they abandon that resistance and start to embrace not only Tesla but other environmentally friendly positions, it’s entirely possible that whatever losses have resulted from Democratic defections can be made up.”
Musk’s foray into politics may have been a calculated risk, with some fallout to his businesses factored into the decision. It’s also conceivable, Panagopoulos says, that what is happening to Tesla is entirely unanticipated. “That would seem somewhat perplexing for a corporate leader,” he says.
That’s because those most alienated by Musk’s politics — the environmentally conscious consumer — represents a significant chunk of Tesla’s target market, Panagopoulos says.
“We rarely have examples of a corporate leader being as overtly partisan as Musk has become in recent years,” Panagopoulos says. “There is evidence of partisan consumerism in previous instances. We saw, for example, a polarization in views of companies that Trump tweeted about in his first administration, when he went to war on social media with companies such as Macy’s.”
“Consumers are responsive to what is happening politically, and their consumer behavior is increasingly an expression of their partisan views,” Panagopoulos says.
The study points to other sources documenting Tesla’s sales slump in the U.S. and abroad.
“While we concede that brand image and willingness to consider a purchase are different from actual purchasing behaviors, it is noteworthy that Tesla sales overall in early 2025 were experiencing significant declines, both in the U.S. and worldwide,” the researchers wrote.
Kyle Endres, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa, and Donald Green, professor of political science at Columbia University, are listed as co-authors of the study.