Although Elon Musk’s Twitter reign has drawn much attention in recent months, his business interests in Tesla have potentially endured even more turbulence. The electric automaker’s stock fell 65% in 2022. Last week, the company announced a number of drastic price cuts to its Model 3 and Model Y cars, as it faced a declining market share and public relations roadblocks.
So where do Americans stand on Tesla as a car manufacturer? According to CivicScience’s ongoing data for the brand, its favorability has declined just over 20% since its peak last March (from 33% to 26% favorable). But its unfavorability has seen a much greater shift, leaping 65% over the same time period (17% to 28%). As of December, Tesla’s favorability was underwater among U.S. adults and the gap has widened thus far in January (26% favorable compared to 28% unfavorable).
Despite this favorability downturn, more than half of all U.S. adults (55%) at least ‘somewhat agree’ that Tesla is “currently the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.” So while its reputation as the chief EV company is still in relatively safe hands for now, the unfavorability inching past the favorability could only eat further into its market share in 2023.
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