With Elon Musk continuing to throw himself into the spotlight of the Trump administration’s efforts to layoff mass amounts of federal workers and restructure the government, his private companies are starting to suffer.
According to an analysis by the national car shopping site Edmunds, Tesla owners are beginning to trade in their electric vehicles at dealerships selling other brands at“the highest” rate ever.
“Shifts in Tesla consumer sentiment could create an opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in an email. “As Tesla brand loyalty and interest wavers, those offering competitive pricing, new technology, or simply less controversy could capture defecting Tesla owners and first-time EV buyers.”
Musk’s actions have left more than just Trump’s rival politicians upset, as vandalism incidents involving Teslas and Tesla facilities have increased in recent weeks and the company’s stock has also taken a dramatic downturn as the stock market continues to respond to Trump’s economic policies.
In December, Tesla’s stock had risen to more than $479 per share but has since fallen to around $248 per share as of the closing bell on Friday.
In January, S&P Global Mobility found that Tesla sales had declined by about 11% year over year in the United States as other car manufacturers continue to make a splash in the EV market.
Data showed that Ford, Chevrolet, and Volkswagen all saw their EV sales increase year over year in January.
Still, Musk and Tesla’s biggest issue still appears to be with the consumer, as many are attempting to make their voices heard through their spending habits.
“We can get back at Elon,” a protestor outside a Tesla dealership in Boston told the Associated Press earlier this month. “We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere, and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas.”
Edmunds noted that Tesla vehicles, model years 2017 or newer, accounted for 1.4% of trade-ins toward non-Teslas in March 2025. A year prior, that rate was 0.4%, an increase Edmunds noted as significant.
For prospective buyers, the company found that buyer consideration for new Tesla vehicles fell to 1.8% in February, down from a high of 3.3% in November 2024 and the “lowest point since October 2022,” Edmunds shared.