Most Americans say they won't buy a Tesla, poll finds. Is Elon Musk the reason?

Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer on Mar 27, 2025

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Last week, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk staged a lengthy ad for Tesla, showcasing a fleet of the company’s vehicles on the White House lawn. “It’s a great product, as good as it gets,” Trump said after saying he purchased one himself.

But, new polling indicates Americans are far from convinced. In fact, most are opposed to owning a Tesla — and for many of them, Musk is to blame.

In a Yahoo News survey conducted by YouGov, 67% of respondents said they would not consider purchasing or leasing a Tesla in the future. Meanwhile, 18% said they would be open to acquiring one, and 13% said they weren’t sure.

On this question, there was bipartisan agreement. Majorities of Democrats (82%), independents (67%) and Republicans (53%) said they would not buy or lease a vehicle from the electric car company.

And of those against having a Tesla, 56% said Musk is either the whole reason (30%) or part of the reason (26%).

Most Democrats (69%) cited Musk as the reason, while less than half of independents (41%) and Republicans (8%) said the same.

The poll — which sampled 1,677 U.S. adults March 20-24 — comes as Musk, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is working to slash spending across the federal government. In the past two months, the Trump administration has laid off thousands of workers at numerous agencies and paused trillions of dollars worth of federal grants.

These actions have not endeared Americans to Musk, the poll found.

A majority of respondents, 55%, said they have an unfavorable view of Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX. Meanwhile, 39% have a favorable view of him.

A slightly smaller share of respondents, 49%, said they have an unfavorable view of Tesla, while 37% have a favorable view of the company.

Further, Americans have soured on Musk when it comes to his role in restructuring the government, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

Nearly half of respondents, 48%, said they disapprove of the way that Musk — one of the wealthiest men in the world — is cutting government spending. Thirty-seven percent said they approve.

A majority of respondents, 52%, said they believe Musk is “mostly trying to help himself,” while 36% said he is “mostly trying to help the country.”

Additionally, 54% said they believe the South African-born businessman has too much influence with the president. Thirty percent said he has about the right level of influence, and 2% said he has too much.

The poll comes at a turbulent time for Tesla. In 2024, for the first time in more than a decade, the company’s global sales dropped, according to the Associated Press. And, in the first two months of 2025, its sales plummeted by 49% in Europe.

Attacks on Tesla vehicles have also been reported in the U.S. and across the world — in an apparent form of protest.

In response, Trump has suggested deporting vandals — whom he called “sick terrorist thugs” — to a prison in El Salvador.

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