Tesla is losing the battle for the loyalty of her clients in the US since Elon Musk began her political adventure and Tesla stagnated in the renewal or expansion of its electric cars. A Global S&P report reveals that many Tesla users are changing to other brands, and some are even driving cars with diesel engines.
This fall in the loyalty of Tesla users is a thermometer for the scope of the brand’s reputation crisis, rather than a change in trend in the electric car market in general.
The elephant in the room. Tesla is not living its best commercial moment. As much as their shareholders trigger the Price of their actions promoted by the enthusiasm that has caused the Billonario de Elon Musk bonus, Tesla’s sales do not trace. As published by Euronews, the data of the Association of European Car Builders (ACEA) suggest that Tesla has suffered a sales drop of 40%, and only in July the company sold 42.4% less in the EU.
The bad news for Tesla is that this fall is not widespread throughout the electric car sector. In comparison, during the month of July its main rival, Byd, put on the street 200% more cars than in the previous registry, ensuring a market share of 1.1% in the EU, while Tesla remains at 0.7%, falling from 2.1% share that the brand signed in 2024.
That means that Tesla still has an important weight in the electric car market, but it is no longer a priority option because the market has become much more competitive in prices and models.
The stagnation of Tesla. Tesla’s reputation has been seriously affected since Elon Musk began to get involved in politics. According to a report by the S&P Global consultant, in the second quarter of 2025, the loyalty of customers in the US to Tesla fell 9.4% compared to the previous year. This percentage places the brand below Ford, although even above Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda or Mercedes-Benz.
It is low in tesla loyalty by its clients, it is not so much due to a loss of reliability of its cars as it could happen in other cases, but to its decisions as a company. Many Tesla users decide not to Buy a Tesla car again and look for rival brands that offer broader ranges and equipment options that Tesla no longer offers.
As a relevant fact, with the exception of Cybertruck, which is not available in all markets, Tesla has not presented a new model since 2019 with Model Y. During that time, the electric car market has been filled with options for all sizes, prices and finishes that do connect with the needs of Tesla users and, when it is time to renew it, they opt for other brands.
Tesla is an atypical manufacturer. Tesla’s problem with respect to those who are already customers is that it is not a car manufacturer to use, but in the background it is a software manufacturer and electrical infrastructure. That is, its business model is not based on taking out a new car every three or four years like the rest of the manufacturers, but on creating a platform and updating its software to improve its benefits throughout its useful life.
That makes, when a Tesla user seeks to renew his car, he does not find in the dealer a new model that makes him feel that he is buying something more modern and current, but meets the same car that has parked in his garage, with some aesthetic touch -ups at most. As much as at the software level, new functions and benefits have been improved and added during that time.
The electric car user is not loyal. The Global S&P study data show that, in general, the electric car customer is not faithful to a single brand, not even a type of fuel. So far this year, only 58.7% of households with electric car changed to another electric, compared to 68% registered two years ago.
On the other hand, combustion car users do remain on this platform when they change car by 84%, although the study indicates that they gradually lose strength in the market.
The Tesla client is no different. If we focus on Tesla users, in 2025, only 52.1% of Tesla customers repeated purchase with the brand, compared to 67% recorded in 2022 and 2023. Of those who decided not to buy a tesla again, 68.9% did so to an electric car of another brand, while 31% made a more drastic change and went to combustion cars, being 28% diesel
This last fact is striking, since diesel cars are very uninfused in the United States and are mainly available in pick-ups and large SUVs, which leaves Cybertruck in a very bad position among the purchase options for this segment.
In WorldOfSoftware | Tesla has a good reason to offer a bill bonus to Elon Musk: it is no longer his golden egg chicken
Imagen | Flickr (Gage Skidmore), WorldOfSoftware
