Amid backlash, Tesla remained resilient in Texas

• The depth of conservatives' enthusiasm for Musk's automobiles now faces a major test amid the absolute meltdown last week between the Tesla CEO and the president.

By the numbers: Texans registered 12,918 new Teslas in the first three months of 2025, a period when Musk, who contributed more than $250 million to a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2024 election campaign, was enmeshed in the Trump administration as the overseer of DOGE, the president's cost-cutting initiative.

• Over the same period in 2024, Texans registered 10,679 Teslas. That's a 21% increase year over year.

The intrigue: The spike in Texas registrations came as Tesla was flailing elsewhere.

• Tesla's vehicle deliveries plunged 13% globally in the first quarter of 2025 (336,681 electric vehicles) compared with Q1 2024 (386,810).
• Tesla vehicles were torched at showrooms and the brand's reputation cratered.

Zoom in: Tesla saw year-over-year improvements in its sales in some of the most populous Texas counties.

• In Travis County, new Tesla registrations grew from 1,369 in the first quarter of 2024 to 1,424 during the first quarter of 2025.
• In Harris County, they grew from 1,526 to 1,837 during the same period.
• Tesla registration grew from 1,316 to 1,546 in Collin County and from 990 to 1,146 in Dallas County.
• In Bexar County, registrations grew from 631 to 664.

What they're saying: "It's homegrown pride," is how Matt Holm, president and founder of the Tesla Owners Club of Austin, explains the car company's resilience to Axios.

• "And regardless of all the drama going on these days, people can differentiate between the product and everything else going on, and it's just a great product."

"Elon has absolutely and irreversibly blown up bridges to some potential customers," says Alexander Edwards, president of California-based research firm Strategic Vision, which has long surveyed the motivations of car buyers.

• "People who bought Teslas for environmental friendliness, that's pretty much gone," Edwards tells Axios.

Yes, but: The company had been enjoying an increasingly positive reputation among more conservative consumers.

• Musk was viewed favorably by 80% of Texas Republicans polled by the Texas Politics Project in April — and unfavorably by 83% of Democrats.

• In what now feels like a political lifetime ago, Trump himself even promoted Teslas by promising to buy one in support of Musk earlier this year.
• "In some pockets, like Austin, you have that tech group that loves what Tesla has to offer, can do some mental gymnastics about Musk, and looks at Rivian and says that's not what I want or might be priced out," Edwards says.

Between the lines: "Being in the state of Texas, you're naturally conditioned to think you're better than everyone else in the U.S. And when you buy a Tesla" — a status symbol — "that's what you're saying. It doesn't surprise me that there's an increase in sales" in Texas, Edwards says.

Plus: Tesla's resilience in Texas could have practical reasons as well, Edwards says.

• Texas homes — as opposed to, say, apartments in cities on the East Coast — are more likely to have a garage to charge a car in, he adds.

What's next: Musk said late last month that Tesla was experiencing a "major rebound in demand" — without providing specifics.

• But that was before things went absolutely haywire with Trump and Tesla stock took a bath last week.

The bottom line: Musk had already alienated potential Democratic Tesla buyers. Now the question is whether he's alienated Republicans as well.