Elon Musk’s foray into politics has backfired on Tesla, polarizing its target audience along partisan lines with Democrats increasingly viewing the brand negatively — a trend anticipated by many and now confirmed in the study, “Tesla Takedown: Brand Politicization and Partisan Consumerism in the Trump Era.”
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and ... More
Tesla, long a status symbol for more affluent environmentally-conscious consumers, particularly those affiliated with the Democrat party, has progressively lost support from its core constituency since CEO Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
On the opposite side of the aisle, Republicans have grown increasingly favorable toward the Tesla brand with their likeliness to consider purchasing a Tesla rising, though many believe they are unlikely to makeup for sliding sales among Democrats.
Tesla’s symbolic value as a luxury brand has shifted in mere months from a brand that stands for sustainability and conscientious consumption to a virtual MAGA hat on wheels.
How much lasting damage has Elon Musk’s political support of President Trump done to the Tesla brand?
“There has been a polarizing effect consistent with our partisan consumerism hypothesis that Democrats’ views on Tesla have soured and Republicans have strengthened in the aftermath of Musk’s involvement in partisan politics. It’s a surprise that Musk is willing to alienate the ideal Tesla owner, since Democrats tend to be more environmentally conscious and to significantly outpace Republicans in their purchase of electric vehicles,” shared Northeastern University’s Costas Panagopoulus, coauthor of the “Tesla Takedown” study, along with Donald Green, Columbia University and Kyle Endres, University of Northern Iowa.
The researchers analyzed data from YouGov’s BrandIndex surveys conducted daily between Jan. 1, 2023 through Mar, 6, 2025 that measure consumers’ views of Tesla across a range of brand perception metrics, including quality, value, employment reputation and purchase intentions. In those measures, the Tesla brand split sharply across party lines, with Democrats’ trend lines progressively declining after Musk joined the MAGA movement and Republicans’ rising.
However, Democrats’ likeliness to purchase a Tesla before Musk’s Trump endorsement and after shifted down only slightly, from an average of 9.1% to 8.9%, while Republicans moved up more, from 7% to 10.2%. A report from prominent Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt suggests new buyers are stepping forward. He reported on X that the legacy Tesla Model Y is nearly sold out at dealerships in 29 states, mostly Red, as it offers deals to clear inventory before the new model is introduced. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for confirmation or comment.
While many see Musk’s link with the Tesla brand as a vulnerability – “Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk,” said Webbush’s Tesla analyst Dave Ives – innovative brands have long been closely identified with their founders, like Bill Gates and Microsoft, Steve Jobs and Apple and Jeff Bezos and Amazon. In the luxury market, it’s been even more so, e.g. Coco Chanel, Thierry Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Guccio Gucci, Christian Dior, Mario Prada, Louis-François Cartier. However, the leadership baton has been successfully passed for each of these brands. Tesla sits at the unique intersection of technology and fashion. The eye-candy Tesla Cybertruck Beast is a perfect example. While Tesla investor Ross Gerber, CEO of wealth management firm Gerber Kawasaki said turning over the reins at Tesla is “never going to happen,” that might not be out of the question and even benefit the brand. For example, Christian Dior was on its last legs before Bernard Arnault bought it and used it as the foundation to build his LVMH empire.
The potential for Tesla to make inroads among those that lean politically right is there. While Democrats have an edge among affluent households – 53% of U.S. households have an adjusted income of $215,400 or greater versus 46% of those who lean Republican – there are more Republicans in the upper-middle income range between $143,600 to less than $215,400. Some 52% upper-middle income households lean Republican compared to 46% Democrat-leaning. For these upper middle-income folks, also called HENRYs (high-earners-not-rich-yet), purchasing a luxury brand as a status symbol often is of greater significance than to those who are truly affluent.
Business leaders and politicians have long shared close ties, but Musk has taken it to a new level. President Trump did a free Tesla commercial at the White House on Tuesday, Mar. 11. Other administration officials have also endorsed Tesla and Tesla stock. Further, the just announced 25% tariff on foreign vehicle imports will likely make Tesla more competitive against leading European luxury automotive brands.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who briefly surpassed Musk as number one in Forbes Billionaire List, though he now stands at number six with Musk still at the top, has long maintained a friendship with Donald Trump with no apparent reputational damage to his company’s industry-leading luxury brands. For example, Louis Vuitton is ranked the number one most admired and innovative global luxury brand in the Vogue Business Index for the first half of 2025 and Dior is ranked second. Just like Musk, Arnault is using his personal connection with the President to grease the wheels to grow his U.S. business, the largest luxury market in the world.
Professor Panagopoulos and his coauthors warn, “Corporate leaders engage in partisan politics at the risk of their brand image and, ultimately, their bottom line.” However, it would be unreasonable to assume that Musk has not carefully evaluated the potential risks and rewards of his political endeavors to Tesla and his other brands, ultimately deciding that the rewards outweigh the risks.
Tesla Takedown: Brand Politicization And Partisan Consumerism In The Trump Era (SSRN, 3/26/2025)
MAGA Teslas? Elon Musk is upending the politics of EVs (Grist, 3/14/2025)