94% of Germans Wouldn’t Consider Buying a Tesla, Survey Finds
Elon Musk’s political controversies are costing Tesla market share in Germany.
By Elijah Nicholson-Messmer, Autoblog
Maybe not all press is good press
Tesla’s reputation in Germany has taken a serious hit, and it’s not just about the cars. A massive survey conducted by German publication T-Online found that 94% of respondents wouldn’t consider buying a Tesla. The reasons? Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in politics, both in the U.S. and Germany, has turned off potential buyers in one of Europe’s largest EV markets.
On Tuesday, Musk reposted a Tweet on X (formerly Twitter) that showed the survey now says “70% of people in Germany would buy a Tesla again.” This sudden shift in the poll’s results raised suspicions. And sure enough, T Online has now reported that bots manipulated the survey, with 253,000 votes originating from just two U.S.-based IP addresses. Now, with sales plummeting, Tesla faces an uphill battle to regain consumer trust.
