Tesla Is the Least Trusted EV in the U.S., Survey Finds

Tesla’s reputation is in a crash it can’t control, much like the people who are behind the wheel when the car’s self-driving features fail to stop. In the latest Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report, Tesla saw its perception erode among consumers, leading to the company scoring the lowest trust score among all major EV makers.

According to the survey, just 26% of participants have a somewhat or very positive view of Tesla—significantly outweighed by the 39% plurality who have a somewhat or very negative view of the company. That leaves Tesla underwater on perception, scoring -13 in net positive view. To give you an idea of just how quickly the company is tanking its reputation, the same report found in April that Tesla had a net positive perception of -7, so that has nearly doubled in just a couple of months.

The situation actually gets worse when the report considers the “intensity score,” which compares the number of people who feel strongly in either direction. There, Tesla sinks further to a score of -16. Basically, of the people who have strong views about Tesla, the hate greatly outweighs the love.

On trust, the water keeps on rising over Tesla’s head. While 40% of survey participants said they somewhat trust or trust the brand a lot, 48% fell on the opposite side of the spectrum, either somewhat distrusting or distrusting the company a lot. That gives Tesla a net trust score of -8, by far the worst of any major EV company. In fact, the only other company to finish with a negative trust score is Vinfast, a Vietnamese automaker that couldn’t find its footing in the American market.

Just as with perception, Tesla’s trust issues get worse when zooming in on the people with the strongest opinions. Tesla’s trust rating drops to -19 when comparing those who trust Tesla a lot versus those who distrust the company a lot.

Tesla’s problems run deep, too. The company has a knack for capturing headlines—in part thanks to the media magnet that is CEO Elon Musk—but that really works against you when your vehicles are involved in high-profile accidents or embarrassing failures, like the Tesla Robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas. To that end, Tesla now has the lowest perceived safety rating of any major EV, per the report, with 55% of people viewing the company’s cars as safe.

A big driver of the low safety score is Tesla’s self-driving functionality, which simply does not have many fans among those who prefer not to be involved in fiery crashes. The report found that 53% of respondents believe robotaxis should be outlawed, and 55% believe Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology should be illegal.

All of that seems to fall in line with the fact that Tesla sales have been dropping precipitously over the last several months, even as Musk claims he’s back to focusing on the company (when forming a new political party doesn’t steal away his attention). But aside from all that, everything is going great!