{"id":81255,"date":"2025-03-17T11:31:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T15:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=81255"},"modified":"2025-03-17T11:31:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T15:31:31","slug":"musk-sell-tesla-cars-conservatives-stores-service-red-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=81255","title":{"rendered":"If Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, Tesla needs stores and service in red states"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elon Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, but if that\u2019s the strategy, the automaker should start with having stores and service centers in red states and rural areas.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s no secret that Elon Musk\u2019s approval ratings with progressives have been plummeting over the last few years and even more so in the previous few months.<\/p>\n

Since he has control over Tesla and he is the only official spokesperson since he let go of the PR department in 2020, the CEO is dragging the automaker along for the ride. <\/p>\n

This is a problem for Tesla as Democrats are much more likely to buy electric vehicles than Republicans:<\/p>\n

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Tesla\u2019s sales have been crumbling over the last few months, and after the stock crashed 15% last Monday, President Trump held a controversial commercial for Tesla <\/a>with Musk on the steps of the White House on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

A day later, it was reported that Musk plans to give Trump another $100 million in political donations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was an apparent attempt to try to promote Tesla to Trump\u2019s fans: conservatives.<\/p>\n

Based on a Tesla inventory check and new order delivery timeline, we reported that the Trump ad appeared to have little to no impact on the demand for Tesla vehicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It could be that people see through Musk and Trump\u2019s quid pro quo and, therefore, don\u2019t value Trump\u2019s \u201cTessler\u201d endorsement seriously. Still, there\u2019s also a more practical reason why Trump\u2019s fans and conservatives generally don\u2019t buy more Tesla vehicles: the locations of Tesla\u2019s stores and service centers (hat tip to Ben).<\/p>\n

Even if some Trump fans were interested in buying a Tesla after the White House commercial last week, they might have been turned off by the idea of having to drive several hours to a store or service center.<\/p>\n

Tesla does not have stores or service centers in Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, or Wyoming.<\/p>\n

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In some cases, it\u2019s not entirely Tesla\u2019s fault, as some of these states have laws against Tesla\u2019s direct sale models. They force automakers to go through third-party franchise dealerships. This is an abuse of old state laws aimed at protecting dealers against unfair competition from the automakers they represent. <\/p>\n

Car dealer lobbies use their influence on state legislatures to use these laws to block Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and other automakers who never had franchise dealerships from operating their own stores and service centers.<\/p>\n

But on top of not having locations in several red states, Tesla also primarily has locations in urban areas, whereas conservatives disproportionally live in rural areas.<\/p>\n

The automaker has several dead zones and doesn\u2019t operate locations in smaller cities and towns where there are several Ford, GM, Toyota, and other car dealers:<\/p>\n

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