A new poll shows 75% of drivers are somewhat put off buying a Tesla over Elon Musk’s antics and his support of Donald Trump – while 58% are “completely” deterred
ALMOST half of UK Tesla owners regret buying the electric cars amid a huge backlash against Elon Musk.
The erratic tech billionaire has put British voters off with his comments and behaviour – both in supporting Donald Trump and on his social network X/ Twitter.
A new poll found 39% of voters had already, or were considering leaving X because of Musk’s comments or behaviour.
Since the summer Musk has repeatedly waded into British politics, pushing conspiracy theories and accusing Keir Starmer of ‘two tier’ justice over his handling of last summer’s riots.
The poll also found Musk’s car firm, Tesla, was losing its shine because of the CEO’s antics.
Some 75% of drivers are somewhat put off from buying a Tesla, with 58% “completely” deterred.
And from a sub-sample of the poll who already owned a Tesla, 45% said they regret purchasing the vehicle.
In recent months Musk has been a prominent part of Donald Trump’s White House inner circle – heading up his ‘DOGE’ austerity squad tasked with shutting down government programmes that don’t align with Trump’s right-wing worldview.
Musk – and his almost unlimited wealth – helped Trump secure victory in November’s Presidential election.
As well as promoting Trump on X – and un-banning him from the network after he was excluded following the January 6 coup attempt – he poured cash into campaigns in key swing states.
But the Musk magic appears to be wearing off in the US. He was humiliated last week after pouring $20 million into a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin which saw the Trump-backed candidate suffer a thumping defeat.
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Chris Holbrook, CEO of Find Out Now, said: “It’s highly unusual to see such a quick shift in consumer behaviour based purely on a CEO’s behaviour, showing just how influential this can be in today’s climate.
“Whatever you think of Elon Musk, it’s hard to understand how a man who can fire and land rockets with such precision could inflict so much self-harm.”
Polling firm FindOutNow polled 3,140 GB adults from 25th to 28th of March.
For the Tesla owners survey they interviewed 365 Tesla owners online between 25th March and 3rd of April.
