Tesla's Rating Among Americans Is Tanking

Good morning! It's Monday, March 17, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's roundup, we're taking a look at what Elon Musk's ties to the Trump administration have done to Tesla's reputation, and see how plans to cut electric vehicle incentives could hit American industry. Plus, find out how Ford is preparing for the worst of the tariff war that's raging and see how Canada is fighting back against Tesla specifically.

Oh Tesla, what the heck is going on? Once upon a time, the American EV maker was the apple of everyone's eye – making electric cars that were actually desirable and worked for many Americans. Now, it's a brand that's got a whole line of novelty stickers available for self-aware owners.

Along the way, the automaker saw sales drop for the first time in a decade and protests kicked off after company boss Elon Musk got into bed with president Donald Trump and started slashing government services. This hasn't been great for the automaker, and now it's emerged that public option of the company is plummeting, reports Business Insider.

Sentiment towards Tesla fell to a nine-year low, the site reports, as it hit a score of minus 12.7. The rating marks the lowest for the EV maker since company YouGov started daily poles of public opinion towards Tesla:

Tesla scored the lowest among liberals, at minus 34.9, with moderates at minus 9.1. By comparison, the average impression score for all automakers was 17.2. Tesla scored 7.6 among conservative Americans on Wednesday, significantly higher than under six months ago, when it scored in the negatives.

Tesla's rating among Americans has been below industry average for more than three years now. The changing fortunes among different voters began last year, however, and its rating among conservatives began rising almost as soon as company boss Musk threw his support, and cash, behind the Trump campaign.

The support impacted metrics, like overall impression and reputation, are measured by YouGov. The data collection company also assesses value, satisfaction, quality and likelihood to recommend the brand in order to calculate its scores.

Trump's rise to power wasn't just bad for Tesla's reputation, it is also set to shake up the entire electric vehicle market across America. Since taking office, the "Home Alone 2" actor slashed support for EV charging stations, cut incentives for states looking to go electric and repeatedly threatened to scrap the $7,500 tax break for new EV buyers.

Cutting the credits brought in on new EV sales could be pretty bad for the industry, however, and could have a dire impact on employment across the country, reports Electrek. That's because scrapping the $7,500 tax break could "decimate the growing EV manufacturing sector" in America, according to a new study from Princeton University's ZERO Lab.

If the cut is enacted, EV demand in America would "sharply reduce," and sales of electric cars could fall by 30 to 40 percent by 2030. In turn, this would hit manufacturing jobs across the U.S. as automakers shift output to match demand:

The report points out that repealing these policies wouldn't just slow down EV adoption – it could seriously derail the US manufacturing renaissance now underway. Up to 100% of planned expansions for EV assembly plants could be canceled or shuttered. Battery manufacturing would also take a huge hit, with between 29% and 72% of battery cell production capacity becoming redundant by 2025.

This would risk factories that are currently under construction to expand capacity in the U.S., as well as proposals for other new battery plants across the country.

Slashing the funding feels at odds with Trump's message of buying American, as it is currently only available to models that meet strict criteria. Surely, if the big orange one really wants to throw his support behind American industry, supporting the tax break and offering other incentives to buy American would be a better way of backing the auto industry?

As if uncertainty around EVs wasn't enough, the entire auto industry was thrown into disarray by Trump's tariffs. The new administration slapped a 25 percent levy on parts imported from Canada and Mexico, before softening those measures and adding additional fees on imports of steel and aluminum from every other country. Can you keep up?

The uncertainty surrounding the cost of almost every part in automotive manufacturing left automakers scrambling for answers as they prepare for rising costs to import and export their models. Ford's answer to all this confusion is to stockpile parts so that it can keep factories in the U.S. running, reports Automotive News:

In a March 14 memo to suppliers, Ford's supply chain chief Liz Door said that leading up to the deadline, the automaker is "strategically stockpiling components where it is cost-effective and parts that are not pending engineering changes." Additionally, the company is reassessing logistics routes and border crossing plans to maximize efficiency, the memo said.

Stockpiling the parts at least puts off any awkward conversations between Ford and its suppliers for a few weeks as the ever-changing tariffs could soon begin to settle. Imports of parts covered by the 25 percent levies after the tariffs took effect will incur additional fees that need to be covered and, as you'd expect, nobody can decide who pays the extra.

Some automakers, like BMW, have committed to absorbing the extra costs, while Automotive News adds that others have been "noncommital" either way. This led some suppliers to halt shipments while they await clarity on the situation. Clarity that, at this rate, may require rapid improvement in international relations to achieve.

Trump's tariffs have, on the whole, hit every corner of the automotive world equally after charges were applied to steel and aluminum imports from almost every country. Tesla could be about to feel the international response a little harsher than others, though, after a wonderfully petty measure from energy suppliers north of the border.

Canadian energy provider B.C. Hydro currently offers rebates to customers installing electric vehicle charger points into their homes, up to the value of $350. The company makes an exception to the offering, though, and won't pay out to anyone that installs a Tesla charger, as the Detroit News reports:

The government-affiliated service stated that it's working to include more Canadian goods in its rebate programs, while shutting out American products when possible. Tesla energy storage batteries and inverters are also affected by B.C. Hydro's decision. The power company provides most of the province's electricity.

The cut in support for Tesla products doesn't yet extend to its cars, as buyers in British Columbia can claim tax incentives worth as much as $4,000 on the purchase of a new EV. The move is just the latest development in decreasing international support for Tesla and its product, following plummeting sales in Europe, protests at dealerships and a growing number of famous faces who have publicly sold off their Tesla cars.

When I got my first iPod way back in the early noughties, it was a pretty big deal. It was a first gen Nano in black, which I still think is one of the best-looking devices Apple shipped, and it came with a whole 1 Gb of storage. To put a dent in all that luscious storage I bought three albums around the same time: "Stadium Arcadium" by the Chili Peppers, "American Idiot" by Green Day and "These Streets" by Paolo Nutini. Eclectic, I know.

I still love all three albums and (most) of the things each artist has released since, but I've been on a big Paolo thing this weekend. Maybe I've been feeling fragile or maybe it's just a soulful period I'm in. Either way, "Iron Sky" from Nutini's third album is excellent, and a great track for your drive to work.