The Curious Case of Elon Musk, MAGA and Electric Vehicles
One Polarizing Cat
Today’s post lives at that busy crossroads of business and politics.
Yesterday, the busy elves at the American EV Jobs Alliance (where I’m Founding Elf) released a fascinating report on Elon Musk’s numbers in a national poll we did after the election.
The data tells a odd but impressive story: Elon has sped from EV Jesus to MAGA superstar with neck-snapping speed, creating all sorts of complicated cross currents. On one hand Elon’s new MAGA Avenger could have a strong positive effect on future Republican consumer acceptance of EVs. (There is some evidence in the data he already has.) That said, to date there is little evidence he is personally interested in doing anything like that. I think the cause of EV adoption is longer of any interest to Elon with his current role as Acting President of the United States, Twitter yob and Federal HR Berserker being so much more fun.
So then, how is Elon’s new Bond villain status among so many non-GOP current and potential EV buyers affecting Tesla’s brand? It’s not pretty. (Quite the ol’ gender gap for Elon too.)
A good tell in the data? Elon v2.0 is far more popular with pick-up truck drivers… than with EV owners!
Let’s just say you should be glad, very glad, you are not Tesla’s head of marketing…
You can read the full Elon report and see the all polling charts at the link here: https://www.evpolitics.org/news/a-political-x-ray-of-elon-musk/
I've had a Tesla since 2018. First a Model 3, then a Y after my son bought the 3. They are amazing cars - there is nothing like them. But I can't handle the association with Elon. I have looked at other EVs - Kia, Hyundai, and Honda. The ones I test-drove were "fine." There was no real comparison to driving a Tesla. So all I have really done, so far, is get a decal that says "In my defense, I bought this before he went nuts," and stick it to the back of the car. I figure the newer ones are being bought be Elonstans. I cannot imagine my getting one today.
Anyone who cares about democracy, and yes, truth, justice, and the American way, should not even think of ever buying a Tesla, and thereby funding and supporting Musk.
And no one makes the Nazi salute by mistake. This has never happened in history. It is not a natural movement that you can accidentally fall into. That is completely implausible. There was intention.