Tesla’s Brand Loyalty Nosedived After Elon Musk Endorsed Trump: Report

Tesla Inc.’s (TSLA) brand loyalty reportedly declined sharply after its co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, endorsed President Donald Trump, according to data from S&P Global Mobility.

Tesla’s customer loyalty was at its highest in June 2024, at 73%, and it bottomed out at 49.9% in March after Musk launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) campaign, according to a Reuters report.

Tesla’s shares were up nearly 2% in Monday’s pre-market trading session. Stocktwits data shows the retail sentiment around the TSLA stock is in the ‘neutral’ territory.

Brand loyalty, in this case, refers to existing Tesla-owning households in the market for a new car buying another Tesla, the S&P 500 report noted, based on data from all 50 states.

S&P 500 analyst Tom Libby called the decline in Tesla brand loyalty “unprecedented,” according to the report. “I’ve never seen this rapid of a decline in such a short period of time,” he said.

The decline saw Tesla going from industry-leading brand loyalty to falling below the industry average, the report said. Since then, however, numbers have picked up, rising to 57.4% in May. “The data shows clearly that the net migration to Tesla is slowing,” Libby added.

During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call in April, CFO Vaibhav Taneja highlighted the negative impact of vandalism and “unwarranted” hostility towards the company. The Musk-led EV giant reported the second consecutive quarter of sales decline in the second quarter, with automotive revenue falling 16% year-on-year.

During a post-earnings call with analysts, Musk warned about tough days likely ahead for the company. “We probably could have a few rough quarters. I am not saying that we will, but we could,” Musk said.

TSLA stock is down 25% year-to-date, but up more than 52% in the past 12 months.

Also See: Scott Bessent Says US Has Entered The ‘Golden Age Of Crypto’ Under Trump

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