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

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Final Up to date on: thirtieth January 2025, 09:24 pm

The UK’s Electrifying.com not too long ago carried out a survey of automotive patrons within the UK. The survey discovered that “60% of car buyers now say Musk’s controversial reputation actively puts them off buying a Tesla,” the corporate writes. 60%! Is there some other firm the place 60% of potential patrons aren’t prepared to purchase the product due to the CEO?

Earlier than I’m going on, I believe I ought to handle Tesla followers who actually don’t like this type of “negative” content material. In my humble opinion, if you’re a Tesla fan, it’s best to need to find out about these sorts of issues, and will need them addressed. Ignoring this story wouldn’t make it go away. Not reporting that 60% of potential UK electrical automotive patrons received’t purchase a Tesla due to Elon Musk alone received’t make these folks change their thoughts. And understanding traits impacting the corporate is vital.

“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 desires to level out that 59% will not be 60%, it’s practically 60%, however anyway, let’s transfer on.) Actually, that’s a ginormous share of potential electrical automotive patrons. Possibly it’s as a result of current occasions and the outcomes can be very totally different in a number of months, but when it’s set and regular in any respect, it’s undoubtedly regarding for Tesla’s future in that market.

Totally electrical automobiles (BEVs) have been 31% of UK car sales in December. Tesla accounted for nearly 21% of these gross sales. If we’re believing the survey outcomes famous above, meaning about half of the EV customers prepared to contemplate a Tesla purchased one. If we assumed nothing controversial ever got here out of Elon Musk’s mouth or fingers and there wasn’t widespread disgust with him within the UK, may Tesla have 50% of the UK BEV market? In all probability not, however one has to marvel how a lot larger Tesla’s share of the market can be. Notably, Tesla continues to be by far the highest BEV vendor within the UK, with its 20.9% share far above #2 Volkswagen’s 9.4% share or #3 Audi’s 5.9% share. May Tesla’s share be a lot larger if Elon Musk was changed in a single day? Who is aware of?….

“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,” stated Ginny Buckley, Chief Government of Electrifying.com. With that being the case, one does additionally must marvel how a lot Tesla’s 21% share of the UK BEV market will change within the coming 12 months. December gross sales have been largely nonetheless coming in from earlier than Elon Musk made wild statements concerning the UK that pushed patrons away. We’ll see how issues go. Because of Max Holland for frequently reporting on the UK’s EV gross sales.

Curiously, the analysis additionally discovered that UK patrons have been more and more gravitating to Chinese language EVs. Undoubtedly, Chinese language automakers have been main the world in EV innovation and growth currently, and among the most fascinating, succesful, high-tech EVs now come from manufacturers 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.

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

Humorous associated story printed elsewhere: Is Elon Musk a good person? His Grok AI says no