A new research report says Tesla lost more than 1 million electric car sales in the U.S. because of CEO Elon Musk’s political activities after he took over Twitter (now called X) in 2022.
The study, done by economists at Yale University, found that many Democratic and environmentally conscious buyers stopped choosing Tesla when Musk became more publicly aligned with Republican political views. Researchers call this the “Musk Partisan Effect.”
According to the report:
* Tesla’s U.S. sales could have been 67% to 83% higher
* That equals 1 million to 1.26 million cars not sold
* Rival EV and hybrid brands gained 17% to 22% more sales because of this shift
The researchers also said California’s progress toward zero-emission vehicle goals slowed down due to this drop in Tesla sales.
Tesla has not commented on the report.
Meanwhile, the company is focusing more on self-driving Robotaxi projects and advanced robotics to reshape its future direction.
