May 21, 2025
Elon Musk has gone from widely admired to largely reviled, and in the process he has damaged the Tesla brand among the sizeable EV market. In years-long tracking data of both Musk’s and Tesla’s images, other recent public polling, and our poll of 2,000 adults conducted at the beginning of May, the message is clear, consistent, and dramatic. The damage Musk has done to his own image has not been offset by gaining new supporters, and he is least popular with those more interested in EVs. In fact, a majority of potential EV buyers say they would be more favorable to Tesla if Musk were removed as CEO.
GBAO conducted a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, from May 2-7, 2025, on behalf of Ekō. The survey was conducted via online panel and has a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.
Key Findings
Musk’s image has collapsed, with Democrats and independents. Musk's favorability has weakened dramatically over the last few years. He was once popular, now he’s not. He was once similarly regarded across party lines, but now he’s hated by Democrats and unpopular with independents. He has not grown enough in popularity with Republicans to offset his poor ratings with others.
The intensity of his unfavorable ratings demonstrates the depths of his poor position. In our current survey, over half are unfavorable toward Musk (55%), with 41% very unfavorable. By comparison, Musk’s favorable ratings are much softer: 40% total favorable but just 18% very favorable.
Views on Tesla have worsened concurrently with Musk’s. As Musk’s image has worsened, so has Tesla’s. The last two years of YouGov’s Tesla net promoter score shows a weakening in Tesla’s ratings mirroring Musk’s sagging image. And in our own poll, both Tesla and Musk have similarly politically polarized ratings.
Tesla is now weaker than the competition among EV-curious consumers. Our survey found the potential EV market to be quite large; over half say they either own an EV or might at least consider buying one. Among these adults – disproportionately Democratic-identified -- Tesla is by far the least popular company in its competitive set. In fact, a majority (55%) of EV-curious adults say they would not buy a Tesla if they were to buy an EV.
Majorities recognize Musk has hurt Tesla. While the trendline and favorability tell a clear story, we don’t need to guess as to the link between Musk’s collapsing image and Tesla’s ratings. In a late March YouGov/Yahoo News survey, a majority (55%) of those not interested in acquiring a Tesla say Musk is a “whole” or “part” of the reason. And in our survey, a clear majority say Musk’s involvement with Trump has hurt Tesla; with even Republicans divided on this. Similarly, nearly two thirds (64%) of adults overall and even more EV-curious adults (72%) say they agree that “Musk’s recent political activity is hurting Tesla’s future.” This was the statement we tested wth the widest agreement.
Tesla is weak on trust and other brand traits Americans say are important. The harm Musk has caused Tesla is evident when comparing what consumers value in a company to how they describe Tesla. Traits such as “makes products I feel good about buying” and “is run by people I trust” are viewed as enormously important, yet fewer than half say these traits describe Tesla. The same pattern holds with EV-curious adults.
And Tesla is weaker on trust than its competitive set. An EV Intelligence Report survey from mid-April suggests that on trust, Tesla falls well behind its competitors. No other EV company is net negative on trust.
EV curious consumers would be more favorable to Tesla if Musk were removed. Musk is so toxic to the brand, his removal might change perceptions. By more than a 2-1 ratio, EV curious consumers would feel more favorably towards Tesla, rather than less favorably, if Musk were removed as CEO.
