Elon Musk reacts during a press event with U.S.
President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.Nathan Howard | ReutersElon Musk's fervent motion of Tesla's self-driving nology isn't doing much to win over spective buyers.According to a new survey, more U.S.
consumers say that Tesla's FSD, or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) systems, would push them away from the brand rather than drawing them to it.The Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report for August, published by political consulting firm Slingshot Strategies, polled 8,000 Americans.
Only 14% of those surveyed said FSD would make them more ly to buy a Tesla, while 35% said the nology would make them less ly to purchase one.The remaining 51% said the availability of FSD would make no difference to them in terms of their car buying decisions.
Nearly half of consumers surveyed by Slingshot said they think FSD nology should be illegal.For Tesla, the troubling results land in the middle of a sales slump resulting from an aging lineup of electric vehicles and increased competition from rivals.
There's also reputational damage in response to Musk, his incendiary political rhetoric, work with the Trump administration and support of Germany's far-right AfD party.Sales of Tesla cars in Europe plunged 40% in July from a year earlier, the seventh consecutive month of declines.In the robotaxi market, Tesla is lagging Alphabet-owned Waymo, and Baidu's Apollo Go.
It's now in the early stages of testing a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with hopes to reach more cities this year.
Cars in Austin have human supervisors on board, while those in San Francisco have drivers at the wheel.
Musk, the world's richest person, has said the future of Tesla hangs on its ability to der autonomous vehicles and related services.
He recently said a new variant of the Model Y, which launched in China, won't "start duction in the U.S.
until the end of next year," and "might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America."watch now3:2603:26Tesla sales fall 40% in Europe as Chinese EV rival BYD's tripleSquawk BoxFor now, Tesla still relies on EV sales for the vast majority of its revenue, though Musk has touted FSD as one of the company's big advantages over competitors.Last month, executives suggested that Tesla has a market education blem when it comes to driving adoption of FSD."The vast majority of people don't know it exists," Musk said on the company's second-quarter earnings call.
"And it's still half of Tesla owners who could use it, haven't tried it even once."Musk said he would start telling customers FSD when they bring their cars in for service, and would begin reaching out to drivers, sending them s of how it works.Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the July earnings call that people who to the premium FSD option get something a "personal chauffeur" for $3.33 a day.The version of FSD Supervised that Tesla sells today is available to owners for $99 per month or an up-front purchase.
The system gives users a limited set of self-driving capabilities on residential and city streets.On Thursday, Tesla sent out a motion offering 0% APR financing for customers ordering a new Model 3 by Sept.
1, as long as they add FSD Supervised to their order, or transfer it from their previously owned Tesla.'Holding AV manufacturers responsible'Musk has said in posts on X that FSD can "can operate in all conditions," will " s" and will be a "life-changing duct" for many people.
He's also d user-generated s showing Tesla owners using FSD without their hands on the wheel.However, in owners manuals, Tesla lists many conditions in which FSD Supervised may not be reliable, and warns users to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times, and be ready to take over steering or braking.Among the subset of survey respondents actively looking to buy a fully electric vehicle, only 20% said they were more ly to buy a Tesla because of FSD, while 33% said they were less ly.
Evan Roth Smith, Slingshot's head of re, said a lack of clarity and honesty in the company's marketing could be a factor.Most consumers polled by the firm want and strong regulations in the U.S.
governing autonomous vehicles, whether they're fully or partially automated."There is strong support for holding AV manufacturers responsible for accidents and requiring stricter regulatory and advertising guardrails around features such as FSD," the Slingshot report said.Smith said the data shows that beyond its FSD woes, Tesla has "the worst reputation of any EV maker in the U.S.""The drop in the company's brand reputation this year is remarkable," he said, adding that recent duct liability lawsuits and verdicts may be playing a role.In early August, a jury found Tesla partially liable for a fatal crash where the driver was relying on its autopilot systems.
Tesla, which plans to appeal the decision, must pay around $243 million in damages to victims and a survivor.In the past two months, the number of consumers who view Tesla cars as unsafe has increased to 36% from 34%, the Slingshot report found, while those viewing Tesla as very safe fell to 13% from 17%.Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet were seen as safest among the greatest number of respondents.Tesla didn't respond to a request for .
Slingshot said it sent the survey results to the company but also didn't hear back from the automaker.Tesla may find that owners in other embrace its brand, and FSD, with greater enthusiasm.
The company just started offering FSD Supervised in Australia this week.Read Slingshot's full Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report for August 2025 here.WATCH: Wedbush's Ives says 80% of Musk lawsuit against Apple, OpenAI is 'noise'watch now5:0805:08Wedbush's Dan Ives: 80% of Musk lawsuit against Apple, OpenAI is 'noise'Power Lunch