Home » Tesla Has Totally Blown Its Loyalty Advantage

Tesla Has Totally Blown Its Loyalty Advantage

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Not only did Tesla have a significant first-mover (or, maybe, fast-follower) advantage with electric cars, the company also collected a fiercely loyal set of buyers. This presented a real challenge for luxury brands as Tesla was mostly taking buyers from them and not giving them back. This was going to inevitably change as more electric cars entered the market, but the collapse of Tesla’s loyalty in the United States is the clearest sign yet of the damage Elon Musk has done to his brand.

The Morning Dump today will be all about second chances. One company that’s taken advantage of Tesla’s fall from grace has been General Motors. Don’t get it twisted, while GM will keep making electric cars, it’s shifting at least one plant in the United States from the production of EVs to gas-powered trucks. Ford is finally going to be building more cars in Europe again that aren’t just, you know, weird Volkswagens.

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Renault has been the exception to the rule for mainstream European automakers, but the good times only last for so long.

Tesla Is Really Jack Pardee-ing It

 

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Do you want to relive some trauma with me? I don’t remember my dad crying a lot, though I’ll never forget the time on January 3rd, 1993, when the Houston Oilers blew a 35-3 lead in the third quarter of the AFC Championship to miss their spot in the Super Bowl to play the vile (to us) Dallas Cowboys. Some call this game “The Comeback,” though I’ll always think of it as “The Choke.”

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I remembered this while looking at the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Brand Loyalty report, which looks at automotive brand loyalty. For years, no one has been even close to Tesla. The pandemic-related disruptions impacted most automakers as traditionally loyal buyers were happy to be able to take anything that was available.

Prior to the pandemic, slightly more than half of buyers (54.3%) were likely to trade their car for another from the same brand. That number dipped below 50% during the pandemic and has, finally, climbed back to close to normal through the first half of the year (53.3%).

There are two standouts in this report. The first is Toyota, which is now the most loyal brand through the first half of 2025, with 65.9% of buyers coming back to the brand. This is helped greatly by the RAV-4, with a brand loyalty of 69.4%. Once you go RAV-4 you never go back, I guess.

Tesla, though, has gone quickly in the other direction:

Tesla, for example, was in the number one position in 2024 with 60.9% brand loyalty. In the first half of 2025, Tesla has fallen to 7th with a rate of 54.2%. Tesla owners disposing of and replacing their Tesla vehicle with another electric vehicle have historically stayed loyal to Tesla 88% of the time. Those same owners are now only 75% loyal, increasingly choosing competitive electric vehicles from other brands.

This is helpful data. There was always some inevitability to Tesla losing market share as other companies caught up, and that has somewhat clouded the discussion over how much Elon Musk’s foray into politics was hurting the brand in the United States (it’s obviously happening in Europe).

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The rapid speed with which Tesla has descended from God-tier loyalty to basically being like any other car company has no other real explanation at this point. A slow descent was what everyone had expected, and this is anything but slow. And, as the numbers show, it’s not just people deciding to buy a non-EV; the company is also losing traction with people who decide to buy another EV.

I’m anxious to see the earnings report from Tesla later this month.

And what about EVs in general? From the same report:

U.S. consumers are transitioning more slowly to electric vehicles than expected. At the same time, automakers are suffering from future unpredictability, plagued by policy changes at the federal level, emissions standards, the rollback of incentives, and governmental regulations. Consumers who remain brand loyal may elect to stay with an internal combustion engine over an EV model made by the same brand.

That’s a convenient transition to…

GM’s Orion Plant Is Going To Make ICE Trucks Instead Of EV Trucks

Orion Assembly
Source: GM

General Motors is adjusting its electrification plans, and, no surprise, this means that the Orion Assembly in Michigan will be shifting towards more future gas-powered truck production instead of, as initially planned, electric truck production. This is likely because the strong market for electric pickups hasn’t particularly materialized, plus the loss of tax credits for cars and a general change in environmental policy in the United States.

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What will happen, it seems, is that GM will make the Escalade, Silverado, and Sierra at Orion. This will allow the company to produce more Suburbans/Tahoes/Yukons/Yukons XL at the company’s Arlington Assembly.

So what of all the money the company took to make electric trucks there? According to the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) still thinks the company is generally following the rules and shouldn’t have to give the $480 million in state funds back:

So far, no one has publicly called for GM to return any of the grant money, though the agreement contains provisions that if the company was to violate the terms, the state has the right to claw back the funds, according to GM.

“GM remains in compliance with their incentive agreement and we’re grateful for their continued commitment to creating jobs and investing here in Michigan, whether it be at the Lake Orion facility or at Factory Zero” in Hamtramck and Detroit, Courtney Overbey Martinez, vice president of communications for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said in a statement.

Well, that’s convenient. Orion does still assemble battery packs for EVs that are built at the company’s Factory Zero facility.

Ford Is Going To Give European Dealers Some Real Cars Again

Puma St 34
Photo: Matt Hardigree

I got to drive the Ford Puma ST when I was in England, and I loved that little hatchback. I would definitely rock one of those over here, though I doubt I’ll ever get the chance. It’s one of the few Ford cars produced in Europe for Europe, as the company has largely pared down the European-specific offerings.

There’s the Volkswagen-based Ford Capri, but the less we talk about that, the better.

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Ford hasn’t given up on Europe yet and, per Automotive News, will start investing again in some real products for the market:

Ford CEO Jim Farley plans to develop new passenger cars in Europe again, dealers were told in a video conference by Christoph Herr, head of the brand in German-speaking countries.

In recent years, U.S. automaker has downsized its passenger car offerings in Europe to focus on its more profitable light commercial vehicles business.

The popular Fiesta small car was dropped, along with the Galaxy and S-Max minivans. The Focus compact car is due to go out of production in the autumn.

You know what deserves a comeback? The freakin’ Escort and the freakin’ Sierra. Make it happen!

Talk About A Bad First Day

Duncan Minto Renault Large
Source: Renault

When Luca de Meo left Renault as its CEO, he went out on a real high note as the company reported healthy margins and profitability at a time when everyone else in Europe seemed lost.

Maybe his sudden timing isn’t so curious now as Renault gets a new interim CEO in Duncan Minto. Here’s how his first day went, as reported by Automotive News again:

Renault Group’s new interim CEO, finance chief Duncan Minto, found himself explaining a profit warning to analysts on his very first day on the job on July 15.

Investors reacted strongly, with Renault’s share price falling 16 percent on early trading July 16.

It was the group’s first profit warning since former CEO Luca de Meo took over a money-losing automaker in July 2020, and it points to immediate challenges facing Minto and Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who will co-direct Renault while it searches for a permanent top executive.

The cut was only from a margin of 7.0% to a margin of 6.5%, so it’s not quite that bad. Still, losing 16% of your value in one day is not great.

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What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

I forgot that this was the Song of the Summer in 2013, or at least one of them. “Rude” by Magic! is definitely an earworm, but it’s also not anything I’d ever actively choose to listen to. The reason why it’s here is because I saw this Instagram reel in which a comedian notes that the song is actually about a Canadian fusion reggae singer being, frankly, politely denied a blessing from an uptight dad. I am Team Dad on this one.

The Big Question

Are you loyal to a brand? Which one?

Photo: Tesla, NBC Sports

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ShifterCar
ShifterCar
9 minutes ago

My loyalties are really generally for products which have not let me down. My cars in chronological order have been –
1984 Chevy Celebrity
1987 Volvo 740 Turbo
2000 Toyota Corolla
2007 Toyota Prius
2017 Audi A4 Allroad
2018 Honda Clarity PHEV
2021 Audi A6 Allroad

Thankfully I have never had a really bad ownership experience so there isn’t a brand I wouldn’t consider owning. However there are a lot of brands that make absolutely no cars I am interested in and I am partial to wagons so at this point I fully expect my future ownership to increasingly look like loyalty to Audi and Volvo.
It also looks like I need to fill in a gap with a 90’s car at some point.

Strangek
Strangek
10 minutes ago

I don’t think I’ve ever been able to afford to be brand loyal when it comes to cars. If I could afford it, I don’t think I would be.

Dan Parker
Dan Parker
22 minutes ago

I’m on my 3rd 4runner and most recently bought a Corolla, but I’m not sure that I’m particularly loyal… There just aren’t a bunch of options in the niches I was shopping when I made the purchases.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
25 minutes ago

Are you loyal to a brand?

Yes

Which one?

Studebaker. Why? They get me:

“Scotsman” was chosen to invoke the problematic stereotype of Scottish thriftiness”

“Problematic” my ass!

Last edited 13 minutes ago by Cheap Bastard
TK-421
TK-421
50 minutes ago

I’ve owned a lot of Toyotas (Scion included). Forayed into Subaru and back to Toyota again with the GR C.

Mr E
Mr E
1 hour ago

I used to be loyal to German brands (out of some misguided German pride or something) until they all broke either my heart or, more correctly, my wallet.

I am no longer brand loyal (with perhaps a handful of exceptions, every brand’s lineup of typical SUVs and crossovers does absolutely nothing for me), but I would say that I am model loyal. I’ll likely be driving a Mustang until I’m either dead or my left leg is unable to engage a clutch pedal. Conversely, I could also see myself tooling around in a Mini Cooper as a crotchety old sumbitch.

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
55 minutes ago
Reply to  Mr E

I’m not loyal to any brand but I’ve owned more Mustangs than anything.

Mr E
Mr E
51 minutes ago
Reply to  Dodsworth

At this point, same here. If you factor in the electric models (sacrilege!) we’ve leased, the number is at 6.

It’s a 50/50 split between coupe and EV.

NoMoreSaloons
NoMoreSaloons
7 minutes ago
Reply to  Mr E

5-10 years ago, I was a die-hard BMW nut. I’ve had at least one every day since college when I bough my first one (An E30 of course). Now, I find myself in a weird situation where I no longer have brand loyalty. Like most other die-hards, I really couldn’t stand not just the looks of the new models, but really the overall direction. No manuals. Bigger and heavier. It’s like Lotus started making limousines. Feels wrong.

I’m lost, but I find myself with a lot of old Chevy products now, so maybe I’m just getting into a new brand loyalty.

LMCorvairFan
LMCorvairFan
1 hour ago

I’m strictly Japanese for now. Our Honda Accord and next year maybe a Mazda cx70 for the second car.
I’ve owned many North American, German and British over the years but will not venture down that path again.

VW – 2
BMW – 1
Mercedes – 1
Triumph – 2
Mini (gen 1) – 1
Ford – 2
Chevrolet – 4
Mopar – 5
International – 1
Olds – 3
Pontiac – 2
Buick – 1
Nissan – 2
Honda – 2
Toyota – 1
Mazda – 1
Lada – 1

Tesla lost me at when he joined the original company.

If I had the money – still might happen, I’d lease a Lucid.

Prefer Fender Telecaster guitars, Precision Bass and Princeton Amps. Owned a load of others but keep coming back to fender. Still have some older Gibsons too

Last edited 1 hour ago by LMCorvairFan
JT4Ever
JT4Ever
1 hour ago

For a long time we were a loyal Toyota family, with a succession of 4 Prius models and an old Sienna for weekends. Getting them serviced at the dealer was a sour note though. Still have 2 Prii and they are very good, but our F150 Lightning has me stronger considering a CPO Mach-e for our next car in a couple years.

Horsew/Noname
Horsew/Noname
1 hour ago

not really a loyalist, but have managed to have a garage full of toyotas and hondas. the right car finds you at the right time haha

Sackofcheese
Sackofcheese
1 hour ago

I am not a brand loyalist, even though my driveway has looked like it before, and currently does. I will take a look at my options from a few brands I’ve had first though. Currently have 2 Hondas, had 2 Mazdas before it, a VW before that. My family are Mazda loyalists though.

Last edited 1 hour ago by Sackofcheese
Johnny Ohio
Johnny Ohio
1 hour ago

I used to be a GM fan and basically all of one side of my family are still active ones. Their slovenly devotion, and insults to their one sibling who went Honda, has basically broken me of that. Tired of that shit. I’m not like that any longer. I like individual models at this point. I will buy whatever is the most reliable/cost effective option for me at the current moment these days.

Edit: as for any type of brand in general? I guess maybe Sony or Kubota.

Last edited 1 hour ago by Johnny Ohio
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