A third of Tesla electric car owners have returned to gasoline cars

Despite the relatively high loyalty to the Tesla brand, a significant part of the owners of electric vehicles of this brand have returned to gasoline cars, according to a survey by S&P Global Mobily, reports The Postedia Auto.

This issue is particularly relevant for owners of the Tesla Model Y electric car: a third of owners of the smallest Tesla model are currently choosing a gas-powered SUV or pickup truck as their next car.

Tesla hopes to resolve this issue once the Cybertruck electric pickup truck finally enters production after years of delays.

At the same time, the Tesla Model Y is the electric car with the most brand loyalty in its segment, reaching 37.3%; in second place is the Ford Mustang Mach-E with 18.5%.

According to the survey, 70.5% of customers bought another electric vehicle after buying a Tesla Model Y, but the rest returned to a combustion SUV or pickup truck.

Owners of the electric flagship “Tesla” Model S are also switching to cars from other brands, whose brand loyalty decreases with the age of the model (“Tesla Model S” entered the market in 2012). Most often, Model S drivers opt for the electric models Lucid Air, Rivian R1T, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Rivian R1S. Only 11.7% of Model S owners upgrade to the same brand, Model X, and 7.9% upgrade to Model 3.

As for the “Tesla Model 3”, 72.8% of buyers remain with the same brand. 40.3% of them buy a Model Y, while 26.1% remain loyal to the same model but more recent.

So far, Tesla has nothing to offer SUV and pickup truck enthusiasts. The release of Tesla’s first electric pickup, the Cybertruck, introduced in 2019, has been constantly delayed. Finally, in July of this year, its first examples rolled off the production lines in Texas, two years later than initially planned. At the same time, mass production of the Cybertruck has not yet started; the American car manufacturer promises to start it by the end of the year.