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Comment by diebeforei485 | Hacker News Reader

Democrats either already own EV's or will buy EV's anyway. The open question is does EV adoption go up among Republicans. I think it will, though I don't know to what extent.

In general, I find surveys or self-reported data to be poor predictors of behavior.

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There are other EVs on the market. Much more reliable ones too. I’m actually amazed they’ve managed to pull off being the least reliable used car, given that the “competitors” have a lot more moving parts:

https://en.cebia.com/detailArticle/the-most-and-least-reliab...

> Democrats [...] will buy EV's anyway

Tesla competitors. Giving fuel to the broader market, decreasing Tesla's market share, and calling into question the bull case for Tesla's highly inflated P/E ratio.

We will see! I think Tesla will be just fine, they keep cutting manufacturing costs and therefore prices.

Maybe in the long run but right now their stock is tanking.

https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=179415 (draw your attention to the center of the graphic, Republican vs Democrat, as it relates to who would consider purchasing an EV)

About 3 in 10 Americans would seriously consider buying an electric vehicle - https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/27/about-3-i... - June 27, 2024

A lot has happened politically since June 2024 when it comes to Elon Musk.

If the thought is this is more favorable for the Tesla brand based on Elon’s actions, I argue no. Republicans, based on the data, were not enthusiastic to begin with for EVs (77% indicating they were not likely to buy an EV). Also, based on the income and wealth data for right leaning households, I would be cautious to assume they have the purchasing power for what Tesla’s market segment offers.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/643334/ownership-ticks-fewer-no...

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-u-s-median-income-in...

Trump seems to be somewhat anti-EV (or, at least, doesn't want to push them in the same way Biden did), so it wouldn't surprise me if Republicans took their cues from him and stayed away.

e.g. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/nx-s1-5272749/donald-trump-ev...

I think you are likely correct. Marketing for Green can only get you so far, next marketing push is Patriotism. I don’t like Musk, but he is a marketing genius of this era.

I think the myth of Elon's genius has been utterly shattered by the Path of Exile 2 debacle. Turns out faking it until you make it can take you all the way to the top.

How is Nazi salute Patriotism?

My point was it can be marketed as Patriotism, and I'm sure enough number of targeted audience will buy that bs.

Why say Democrats? I know plenty of Republicans that feel that way.

Putting people in neat boxes is a major reason that Trump is president.

People are more alike than different. All it takes is the majority of people to wake up and say "no thanks, this is too crazy"

It was more like “No thanks, I vote for crazy.” I swing right on a lot of things (I voted against democrats in local/state races), but I couldn’t fathom how anyone would see a second trump term as anything more than the chaotic mess the last one was.

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