A new study shows that only 26% of U.S. households are familiar with EVs but this is about to change. In the recent study by Parks Associates, it was noted that as Tesla became a household name, purchase intention for EVs has gone up 6%.
I wrote about this here, and Teslarati was invited to attend to the virtual session where Chris White, the senior analyst who conducted the study, led a virtual presentation.
According to the study,
“Only 26% of US broadband households report high familiarity with electric vehicles but that’s about to change. These sessions address the coming surge of EVs on the market, the potentially explosive EV growth in adoption, and the implications for consumers, the grid, and needed infrastructure.”
Electric Vehicles: A New Era for Consumers
During the virtual session, Chris White explained some of the findings of the study. Some of these include current EV owner demographics, EV owner interest in clean energy, EV owners’ high-tech affinity, lack of knowledge of EV features, and how other issues such as the chip shortage are affecting both EV and non-EV markets.
The report was based on data from Q4 2021.
Understanding Current EV Owners
Current EV owners are young affluent and have dual incomes. Many are from a multifamily environment and use their EVs for work and school.
They use their vehicles regularly. It’s important to highlight since EVs have the image of a rare or exotic car that doesn’t have enough range. This is changing.
As the EV market continues to grow, the demographics of the current EV owners will most likely change. For now, there’s a 16% high intention of purchasing EVs among non-owners. Previous that was 10%.
That number didn’t include the current EV owners who either want to add a new EV or replace an old one.
EV Owners 3x likely to use renewable energy
Chris White’s research showed that EV buyers are three times more likely to live in solar communities or have an interest in renewable energy powering their homes. They are also 2.5 to 5 times more willing to pay more for renewable energy.
The research shows that EV owners care about their carbon footprint and the impact on the environment.
EV owners are much more likely to own a security system or a smart home device than non-EV owners, according to the research
They xcare about technology and have a higher affinity for tech than non-EV owners.
Lack of familiarity with EV features.
One of the key points in the study shows that although EVs are more popular today, there is a lack of familiarity with their features.
Chris pointed out that 18% of the consumers polled indicated familiarity with EV features. That isn’t a lot.
Features that many aren’t familiar with include EV charging at home minimizing cost when automatically charging during off-peak hours, auto insurance savings for EV owners, second-life EV batteries reused as a power source in disaster areas, and available tax incentives.
Second-life EV batteries are expected to reach over $34 billion by 2027 according to Research and Markets. You can read more about this here.
EV Features that could persuade non-owners to buy an EV
The study included the top features that could persuade non-EV owners to switch to electricity. The number one feature was for an EV to run 400 miles or longer on a single charge.
During the session, Chris pointed out that this is still rare and that most EVs are in the 200-300 mile range.
Other features included widespread charging stations and electricity plans that make owning an EV more affordable than owning an ICE vehicle. These are coming and soon people will see for themselves that EVs meet the criteria they are looking for.
Purchase Inhibitors.
The number one purchase inhibitor that non-EV owners are concerned about are the cost of an EV and charging.
The research showed that 51% of the consumers who participated in the study cited charging-related issues.
Another issue was the lack of trust in the design of EVs,
Issues that impact both EV and non-EV purchases
We often see issues such as the semiconductor chip shortage and critical minerals for EV batteries impacting the EV market. However, something that impacts both markets includes the chip shortage, Putin invading Ukraine, and the national gas prices being on the rise.
The latter can create pain at the pump which is something that encourages people to make the switch to EVs. Last month, I wrote about Dobson who purchased a Tesla due to several factors but especially high gas prices.
EVs will be everywhere soon.
The research also revealed that soon, EVs will be everywhere.
Chris spoke about the Amazon and Rivian partnership, Walmart’s purchase of Canoo EVs, Revel’s fleet of Tesla taxis in New York, and the contract between NASA and Canoo.
And this is just on the commercial side. Other automakers are producing and marketing their own EVs to compete with Tesla.
Disclaimer: Johnna is long Tesla.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
Tesla Cybertruck is significantly different from traditional pickups on the market in a lot of ways. However, one feature that was recently modified with its interior was a highly requested characteristic that is present in other trucks, but was void from Cybertruck.
Tesla went with a five-seat configuration with Cybertruck: two in the front and three in the back. The spacious interior is matched with plenty of storage, especially up front, as a pass-through, center console, and other storage options, but some Tesla fans wanted something different: bench seating.
Bench seating is popular in many full-size pickups and allows three passengers to sit up front. The middle seat is usually accompanied by a fold-down storage unit with cupholders.
Tesla decided to opt for no bench seating up front, despite the fact that it equipped bench seating in the unveiling in 2019. Interior photos from the unveiling event from nearly six-and-a-half years ago show Tesla had originally planned to have a six-seat configuration.
This was adjusted after the company refined the design:
(Tesla Cybertruck interior configuration in 2019)
Despite Tesla abandoning this design, it does not mean owners were willing to accept it. One owner decided to modify their Tesla Cybertruck interior to equip that third seat between the driver’s and passenger’s thrones.
The fit is snug, and while it looks great, it is important to remember that this does not abide byregulations, as it would require an airbag to be technically legal. Please do not do this at home with your own Cybertruck:
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- Credit: @blueskykites
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- Credit: @blueskykites
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- Credit: @blueskykites
The Cybertruck is a popular vehicle in terms of publicity, but its sales have been underwhelming since first delivered to customers back in 2023. It’s hard to believe it’s been out for two-and-a-half years, but despite this, Tesla has not been able to come through on its extensive order sheet.
This is mostly due to price, as Cybertruck was simply not as affordable as Tesla originally planned. Its three configurations were initially priced at $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990. At release, Cybertruck was priced above $100,000.
This priced out many of those who had placed orders, which is the main reason Cybertruck has not lived up to its expectations in terms of sales. The adjustments to the specific features, like the removal of the bench seat, likely did not impact sales as much as pricing did.
This modification shows some creativity by Tesla owners, but also shows that the Cybertruck could always be the subject of a potential refresh to include some of these features. Tesla routinely adjusts its vehicle designs every few years, so maybe the Cybertruck could get something like this if it chooses to refresh its all-electric pickup.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab
“And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface,” Musk said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped a massive bomb about the Cybercab, which is the company’s fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle that will enter production later this year.
The Cybercab was unveiled back in October 2024 at the company’s “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles, and is among the major catalysts for the company’s growth in the coming years. It is expected to push Tesla into a major growth phase, especially as the automaker is transitioning into more of an AI and Robotics company than anything else.
The Cybercab will enable completely autonomous ride-hailing for Tesla, and although its other vehicles will also be capable of this technology, the Cybercab is slightly different. It will have no steering wheel or pedals, and will allow two occupants to travel from Point A to Point B with zero responsibilities within the car.
Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
Details on the Cybercab are pretty face value at this point: we know Tesla is enabling 1-2 passengers to ride in it at a time, and this strategy was based on statistics that show most ride-hailing trips have no more than two occupants. It will also have in-vehicle entertainment options accessible from the center touchscreen.
It will also have wireless charging capabilities, which were displayed at “We, Robot,” and there could be more features that will be highly beneficial to riders, offering a full-fledged autonomous experience.
Musk dropped a big hint that there is much more to the Cybercab than what we know, as a post on X said that “there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface.”
And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2026
As the Cybercab is expected to enter production later this year, Tesla is surely going to include a handful of things they have not yet revealed to the public.
Musk seems to be indicating that some of the features will make it even more groundbreaking, and the idea is to enable a truly autonomous experience from start to finish for riders. Everything from climate control to emergency systems, and more, should be included with the car.
It seems more likely than not that Tesla will make the Cybercab its smartest vehicle so far, as if its current lineup is not already extremely intelligent, user-friendly, and intuitive.
Investor's Corner
Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst
The Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Longtime Tesla analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has shared his insights on Tesla’s Q4 2025 deliveries. As per the analyst, Tesla’s numbers are actually better than they first appear.
Munster shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Normalized December Deliveries
Munster noted that Tesla delivered 418k vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, slightly below Street expectations of 420k but above the whisper number of 415k. Tesla’s reported 16% year-over-year decline, compared to +7% in September, is largely distorted by the timing of the tax credit expiration, which pulled forward demand.
“Taking a step back, we believe September deliveries pulled forward approximately 55k units that would have otherwise occurred in December or March. For simplicity, we assume the entire pull-forward impacted the December quarter. Under this assumption, September growth would have been down ~5% absent the 55k pull-forward, a Deepwater estimate tied to the credit’s expiration.
“For December deliveries to have declined ~5% year over year would imply total deliveries of roughly 470k. Subtracting the 55k units pulled into September results in an implied December delivery figure of approximately 415k. The reported 418k suggests that, when normalizing for the tax credit timing, quarter-over-quarter growth has been consistently down ~5%. Importantly, this ~5% decline represents an improvement from the ~13% declines seen in both the March and June 2025 quarters.“
Tesla’s United States market share
Munster also estimated that Q4 as a whole might very well show a notable improvement in Tesla’s market share in the United States.
“Over the past couple of years, based on data from Cox Automotive, Tesla has been losing U.S. EV market share, declining to just under 50%. Based on data for October and November, Cox estimates that total U.S. EV sales were down approximately 35%, compared to Tesla’s just reported down 16% for the full quarter. For the first two months of the quarter, Cox reported Tesla market share of roughly a 65% share, up from under 50% in the September quarter.
“While this data excludes December, the quarter as a whole is likely to show a material improvement in Tesla’s U.S. EV market share.“
Tesla Cybertruck undergoes interior mod that many owners wanted
Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab
