President Donald Trump is the same guy that people who promote electric cars once said shouldIt’s corrupted in hellI bought his own EV this week. He showed off his new Tesla model outside the White House on Tuesday, like the great American hat, praised Tesla CEO Senior Advisor Elon Musk, and declared the company’s vehicle “beautiful.”
This is similar to the sales pitch of Musk’s Company, the country’s largest seller of EVS. Tesla lost More than half of its value Sales have been around since December It fell sharply all over the world. Musk has demolished a portion of the federal government as head of Doge, the new Office of Government Efficiency, which has made the vehicle a toxic symbol for the Democrats, the majority of Tesla owners. Last week, the protesters have The Tesla dealer was destroyed, Set up Cybertrucks Aflameand boycotted the brand. Liberal Tesla drivers have it I slapped a sticker on the car It read: “I bought this before Elon got hooked.”
The strong emotions surrounding Musk are already beginning to fight for politics, mainly for EVs. Trump’s exhibition at the White House on Tuesday was a mask defense, and he said he was “unfairly punished for finding all sorts of horror that happened to our country. But not just because the Trump administration was, but the strange scene of Trump showing vehicles running electricity instead of gas that feels like a sketch from a Saturday night live show. We are trying to reverse the rules of the Biden era It would have expanded the adoption of low-emission vehicles. Two of the biggest characters in Maga Politics promoted the technology that was largely rejected by right-wing bases.
Other prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Green; I moved quickly to protect Tesla. For vandalism Trump has labelled it as “domestic terrorism.” The sudden shift from Tesla’s symbol of democratic status to Republican symbolism believes that the musk debate could lead to a bipartisan embrace in EVs.
“He really has the power to shape this debate and help fill the division here,” said Joe Sachs, “executive director of the American EV Jobs Alliance.”Stupid partisan politics“From stopping the electric vehicle manufacturing boom. “I don’t know if that’s whether he’ll use his new perch and his role in the administration, but he appears to have the ability to do that.”
According to Polling of alliances carried out After the November election, Republicans warmed up to Musk, with 82% of those who voted Musk as a good ambassador for EVS voted. The majority of Trump voters (64%) said they saw Tesla in a positive way, compared to 41% of those who voted for Kamala Harris. “Republicans will be caught up in the idea that if the market leader CEO is sitting next to President Trump in an oval office during a press conference, there should not be much cultural disparity in this product category,” Sachs said.
The data is consistent with a recent analysis from financial services firm Stifel, which shows Tesla has gained a greater advantage among Republicans as its popularity plummeted with Democrats. Compared to August, Republicans are up 13% Consider purchasing a Tesla.
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However, there is reason to suspect that EVS will continue to be a tough sell for Republicans. Mark Hetherington, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a co-author of the book, says they are traditionally traditional people who like large vehicles rather than small cars with new technology they have never used before. Prius or pickup? “Conservatives don’t have the sensibility to suit electric vehicles at all,” he said. “So I don’t think Tesla sales will skyrocket among conservatives.”
Alexander Edwards, president of Research Consultant Strategy Vision, said Republicans view gas-powered cars as a more practical purchase to transport families from place to place. It is based on his company’s research, examining the psychology behind the car choices of around 2 million Americans a year. “I think Elon made a bet that he secretly regrets. A Republican leaves the woodworking and says, ‘Yes, we’re going to support you,'” Edwards said.
But if they come to an electric car, it could be Tesla. One of the main things Republicans care about when it comes to buying a car is that it looks faster and faster, and Tesla has therefore seen more Republican buyers, Edwards said. According to Edwards data, Democrats consistently buy electric cars at a 4-1 ratio compared to Republicans, but 2-1 when it comes to Teslas. Last year, more Republicans bought Teslas for the first time than Democrats — not because more Republicans gathered in the brand, but because Democrats pulled away from it.
For Democrats who have long been criticized for having a self-righteous attitude towards driving a Prius, Teslas offered a cool, desirable alternative with less luggage when they took off in the early 2010s. “Tesla was able to ultimately provide the Democratic buyers with what they were looking for, combining it with the Prius-like image of thoughtfulness with the fun and excitement of a real luxury sports car,” Edwards said. That began to change as Musk became a magnet for political controversy that began with his acquisition of Twitter in 2022. Teslaev has become a symbol of Tesla’s CEO.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat. When you jump into the Batmobile, you’re Batman,” Edwards said. “And the same applies to the vehicles we buy. We often want them to show us who we are, what we have achieved, what we represent.”
Of course, there is a way to break away from electric cars that don’t rely on clues from playing cards or musks. Sack recommends talking about the attributes of electric vehicles: the ability to accelerate faster, brake more vividly, and help people Save money with every miles they driveBecause there’s no need to buy gas. When people have friends and family who own EVs, it also helps to break down cultural disparities, he said.
In a sense, we can see Trump become an electric car salesman with him as an example of that phenomenon. Self-proclaimed “first buddy” Convince him to come. Just two years ago, Trump complained that EV I had to pay every 15 minutes And I’ll do that Kill American jobs. but, After Musk approves presidential campaign Last summer and Donated $288 millionTrump softened his tone and said he was in favor of “very small slices” that the car was electricity. “I have to be, you know,” Trump said, “Because Elon supported me so strongly.”
On Tuesday, when Trump first climbed his new electric vehicle, he seemed surprised by what he saw there. “It’s beautiful,” he said, praised the dashboard. “This is a different panel than what I had. Everything is a computer!”
Fix: The story originally misunderstood the percentage of Harris voters who viewed Tesla in favor.
