UK Survey Finds 60% Of Car Buyers Turned Off By Elon Musk – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 30th January 2025, 09:24 pm

The UK’s Electrifying.com recently conducted a survey of car buyers in the UK. The survey found that “60% of car buyers now say Musk’s controversial reputation actively puts them off buying a Tesla,” the company writes. 60%! Is there any other company where 60% of potential buyers aren’t willing to buy the product because of the CEO?

Before I go on, I think I should address Tesla fans who really don’t like this kind of “negative” content. In my humble opinion, if you are a Tesla fan, you should want to know about these kinds of things, and should want them addressed. Ignoring this story would not make it go away. Not reporting that 60% of potential UK electric car buyers won’t buy a Tesla because of Elon Musk alone won’t make those people change their mind. And understanding trends impacting the company is important.

“This sentiment spans both current EV owners and those planning to make the switch to electric, with 59% of each group admitting Musk’s influence has become a dealbreaker.” (The editor in me now wants to point out that 59% is not 60%, it’s nearly 60%, but anyway, let’s move on.) Honestly, that’s a ginormous percentage of potential electric car buyers. Maybe it’s due to recent events and the results would be very different in a few months, but if it’s set and steady at all, it’s definitely concerning for Tesla’s future in that market.

Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) were 31% of UK car sales in December. Tesla accounted for almost 21% of those sales. If we’re believing the survey results noted above, that means about half of the EV shoppers willing to consider a Tesla bought one. If we assumed nothing controversial ever came out of Elon Musk’s mouth or fingers and there wasn’t widespread disgust with him in the UK, could Tesla have 50% of the UK BEV market? Probably not, but one has to wonder how much higher Tesla’s share of the market would be. Notably, Tesla is still by far the top BEV seller in the UK, with its 20.9% share far above #2 Volkswagen’s 9.4% share or #3 Audi’s 5.9% share. Could Tesla’s share be much higher if Elon Musk was replaced overnight? Who knows?….

“Tesla has been instrumental in driving EV adoption, but Elon Musk’s personal brand appears to be polarising. Consumers now have more choice than ever, and it’s clear some are turning away from Tesla to explore other options,” said Ginny Buckley, Chief Executive of Electrifying.com. With that being the case, one does also have to wonder how much Tesla’s 21% share of the UK BEV market will change in the coming year. December sales were largely still coming in from before Elon Musk made wild statements about the UK that pushed buyers away. We’ll see how things go. Thanks to Max Holland for regularly reporting on the UK’s EV sales.

Interestingly, the research also found that UK buyers were increasingly gravitating to Chinese EVs. Without a doubt, Chinese automakers have been leading the world in EV innovation and development lately, and some of the most desirable, capable, high-tech EVs now come from brands like BYD, NIO, XPENG, and Zeekr.

“Chinese EV manufacturers are rapidly gaining traction among UK buyers. The study shows 61% of EV owners and 56% of potential buyers are open to purchasing from a Chinese brand—a significant shift as perceptions of quality and affordability improve,” Electrifying.com writes.

Related story: 31% of Tesla Owners in Netherlands Consider Selling Their Cars Because of Elon Musk

Funny related story published elsewhere: Is Elon Musk a good person? His Grok AI says no