RELATED: Kimbal Musk — Elon’s brother — referenced more than 100 times in latest Epstein files release “Back then, the brand was more than just the vehicle,” says Tom Libby, a consultant at S&P Global Mobility and the author of its Tesla brand loyalty report. “It was perceived as a leader, and the vehicles themselves were leading-edge EVs, although they are not necessarily at the forefront anymore.” The company is having to cope with its portfolio of aging models. Tesla hasn’t launched a fully new model since the Cybertruck in 2023, and Musk announced on Jan. 28 that it will soon discontinue its two oldest vehicles, the Model S and Model X (which started deliveries in 2015). It’s expected to start production of a ride-hailing Cybercab vehicle and share more details about a next-generation Roadster, initially unveiled in 2017, later this year. “A big driver for the decline is lack of new products,” says Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. “Any automaker that doesn’t have new products is going to lose market share. Tesla needs new products.” Other issues, such as outdated technology and inferior components, came up as common complaints in my conversations with more than a dozen former and current Tesla owners. Electric vehicles in general are notorious for poor build quality. According to Consumer Reports, they are 80% more likely to have problems than conventional cars, and it’s notable that this year EV competitor Rivian is rated the least reliable automaker of all. (A spokesperson for Rivian did not respond to a request for comment.) In 2025, Consumer Reports ranked the Tesla Model 3 as the 10th-most-reliable EV behind frontrunners from Lexus, Hyundai and Porsche and the highest of any Tesla on the list. (A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment regarding the quality of Tesla vehicles.) Multiple owners also mentioned that lackluster customer relations led them away from the brand, and there’s no shortage of Reddit threads expanding on this. Last summer, fed up with “dealing with Tesla customer service” and the inconvenience of getting to service stations an hour away from his home in Kingston, New York, Oresti Tsonopoulos sold his 2018 Tesla Model 3 and 2020 Tesla Model Y and got a Hyundai Ioniq 9. “It was nice to consolidate from those two cars,” he says, adding that although the price on the Ioniq 9 was comparable, to him the Hyundai represented a better overall value. Such defections are typical, according to S&P Global, which reports that many people then choose vehicles with similar or higher prices. “Tesla defections are not cost-driven,” Libby wrote in his report. “Households are choosing alternative vehicles in comparable or higher price bands — often for differences in format, capability, or brand — rather than trading down for affordability.” For its part, Tesla may looking further ahead. It’s increasingly focusing on robotics, and Musk has said that Tesla will eventually derive 80% of revenue from Optimus, a robot trained for repetitive tasks. There are also indications Musk could merge Tesla with his artificial intelligence company, xAI, or with SpaceX, his rocket company. Musk plans to merge SpaceX with xAI, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The new focus could be the path toward regaining some of the brand’s prodigal customers, who still see Tesla vehicles as mules for cutting-edge software. “The excitement from Tesla is gonna come in the form of technology,” says J.D. Power’s Salerno. Meanwhile, after its deepest dip last spring, brand loyalty for Tesla has started to inch back up, possibly boosted by aggressive incentives and Musk’s more subdued persona, says S&P’s Libby. In Venice, California, Brett Baer says he would consider driving his Tesla again if Musk delivers on the autonomous driving he’s been championing publicly since 2015. Despite its nomenclature, Tesla’s current system called Full Self-Driving (Supervised), or FSD, is not fully autonomous. The company is facing a possible suspension of its sales license in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles accused it of misleading consumers about the automated-driving capabilities of its vehicles. (In a post on X on Dec. 16, Tesla North America said it was a “consumer protection order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.” The company did not respond to a request for additional comment.) For the most loyal customers, hope springs eternal, says Salerno. The fewer disruptions from billionaire CEOs, the better. “Full self-driving is something that Tesla will conquer and probably do it better than anyone else,” he says. “Honestly, I think Elon just needs to focus on the business and get rid of the distractions in his life.” More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.