Recently, I stumbled upon a bumper sticker on a Tesla Model 3, “I bought this before Elon went crazy” red the statement. Sure enough, these bumper-stickers have become common sight around the world, particularly in left-leaning regions, and it in someways outlines the negativity surrounding the Tesla brand, particularly in left leaning regions. Tesla’s problem however, is that EV customers tend to lean left (source).
To be fair, Tesla’s motto is still “Accelerating the World’s Transition to Sustainable Energy”, and full disclosure, I have used and do own some of their products. Generally, if you can hold your nose, the products themselves, be it the EVs, Powerwall, Charging units and more, are world class, and consistently score well in consumer surveys (source).
So if its not the product, then what gives?
In a word… Elon. Tesla’s CEO has been a key member of Mr. Trumps presidential team, whose actions, have poured spite on EVs and even gone as far as to spitefully turn off charging stations on federal property (source), despite these charging stations having been paid for and installed. As Mr. Musk owns about 20% of Tesla (source), its really hard to separate the two.
This is compounded by the reality of where EVs are sold. In the US, California is a giant in electric vehicle sales, accounting for about a third of all EV’s on the roads in America, despite being only about 10% of the overall US population.
Europe shows a similar story, EV sales are booming, but somehow Tesla is being left out in the cold (source). Further, the Elon effect is an often cited cause, namely that Mr. Musks support for right leaning political parties is alienating those further to the left on the political spectrum (source).
Another factor is competition. Tesla’s EVs charge at a respectable 250 kW (source), which is a quarter of the charging rate being offered of future BYD EVs (source). Further, in Europe, where Chinese EVs are permitted, they offer a compelling value proposition of low cost, and sufficient utility for many (source).
Here in North America, the cheapest Model 3 on sale at the time of this writing (April 2025), is priced at $80k CAD (source). To be fair, some of that might be owning to the ongoing tradewar, and Mr. Trump, but there was a time where a Model 3 could be had for $50k CAD (source). This is something that Tesla could address, by bringing back the Tesla Model 3 standard range, which by the way is the most common variant I have seen in my bi-annual used EV surveys (see this post). The rumoured Tesla Model 2 is catching a fair bit of press these days (source).
Another thing Tesla could do is change its management, perhaps Mr. Musk could withdraw and another CEO take the reins? (source).
So, all told, there are plenty of things Tesla can do to turn around its fortunes, finding someone else to be CEO, and add some new products, perhaps a model 2, or bring back the Tesla Model 3 standard range?
Electric car adventures 