Elon Musk’s high-profile involvement in politics could be prompting prospective electric car buyers to consider new entrant Chinese brands rather than Tesla, according to consumer research by JudgeService. Two-thirds of car buyers said Musk’s political activity has made them less likely to consider buying a Tesla, while only 13% said it did not make any difference. The same poll of 1,000 car buyers found 37% would consider a new Chinese brand for their next car, with 33% saying they would not and 27% undecided. BYD emerged as the brand with the highest unprompted awareness with 28% able to name it when asked to list any Chinese brands they were aware of. Geely-owned Polestar topped the list of brands with the highest prompted awareness at 45% with BYD a close second at 42%. MG, perhaps not widely recognised as Chinese owned, came third at 39% followed by OMODA and JAECOO both at 7% and GWM Ora at 6%. “Elon Musk’s activism, as part of the Trump administration and his views on the politics of other countries, appears to be having a negative effect on Tesla’s brand equity. It seems not all publicity is good publicity after all,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService. “While Tesla’s falling sales in the UK and Europe can be attributed to an ageing model line-up, our research shows his outspoken views are also turning off prospective buyers. “Conversely, BYD has a fresh line-up and has invested heavily in high profile sponsorships, including the Euros and TV advertising, to gain remarkable unprompted awareness in such a short space of time. “This raises the question of which carmakers will prospective Tesla buyers turn to? Our research found nearly four in 10 buyers will consider a new Chinese entrant for their next car with Polestar and BYD emerging as high-profile contenders,” said Addley. JudgeService’s research polled the views of 1,000 car buyers in March and April to identify current attitudes towards dealers and buying intent.