Deloitte, a leading professional services network, has published polling and analysis on the hurdles ahead of EV adoption globally.
Deloitte condensed its findings well in one of the first sentences of its analysis, “interest in electric vehicles grows, but worries about price, range, and charging time remain.” This survey is part of a series that Deloitte has conducted annually for over a decade now called the “Global Automotive Consumer Study.” In this year’s publication, the focus was on electric vehicles.
The first surprising piece of data is how much the United States lags in interest in electric vehicles. Deloitte found that only 8% of respondents were confident that EV was their next vehicle. However, this is an outlier compared to other recent surveys conducted in the U.S. Out of the nations polled by Deloitte, China led in interest in EVs, with over a quarter of respondents saying that their next vehicle would be electric.
Less surprising were the reasons respondents were interested in purchasing an EV. Despite the near-constant messaging from governments, media sites, and automakers alike, the cost of ownership was by far the most significant attractor for consumers. Significantly more swaying than concerns about the environment or concerns about personal health.
Shortly thereafter, Deloitte highlighted the top concerns of consumers if they were to buy an electric vehicle, and unsurprisingly, affordability was the number 1 concern across the board. In the U.S., other top concerns included driving range, charging time, public charging availability, and at-home charging availability. Globally, other than concerns regarding the upfront cost of the EV, charging time, driving range, and charging availability were also top concerns.
Only one country had responses that dramatically differed from the norm, China. Chinese respondents not only stated that the superior driving experience was the top attractor to EVs, but their biggest concern was safety regarding battery technology.
For those who live or have purchased an EV in the U.S., these results should be no surprise. The foremost EV seller in America, Tesla, no longer sells a vehicle below $40,000, and the vast majority of Tesla vehicles sell for much more. To make the problem even worse, traditional budget brands have not yet been able to bring down their prices to parity with gas offerings.
Ford’s F150 Lighting sells for thousands more than its gas counterpart. The first-ever Toyota EV offering, the BZ4X, is multiple times the cost of a base RAV4. And while the Chevy Bolt has become popular specifically for its affordability, it remains far more expensive than gas vehicles in its class.
The other area where EVs aren’t meeting customer expectations is in the driving range they are capable of. An astounding 19% of respondents stated that they would want a vehicle with a minimum range of 600 miles, while the plurality of respondents expected more than 300 miles of range. And while many may believe that these expectations are unfairly high compared to gas vehicles, perhaps this is also a messaging problem that automakers must solve in the coming year.
These results do come with the caveat that they varied quite considerably from market to market. Noticeably, Southeast Asian respondents needed the least amount of range, while respondents from Europe and the U.S. stated they needed the most.
On a more positive note, Deloitte was able to find areas where advancement in EV technology has finally been able to meet consumer expectations. The vast majority of respondents stated that they were willing to wait either between 10-20min or 20-40min for a complete charge, and over 40% of respondents stated they would be willing to wait a max of 20min.
While these expectations are high, they are finally within reach of many popular vehicles. Hyundai’s fastest charging vehicles will charge from 10-80% in 18min, while Teslas that plug into the newest generation Supercharger are charging to 80% in a similar timeframe.
For someone who spends their time immersed in the world of electric vehicles, such as myself, it can come across as a culture shock hearing about the concerns and motivators that are affecting the purchasing choices of the people that live around me. Still, perhaps it is an important exercise to step away from the keyboard and see what others really think. And for manufacturers, data like that collected by Deloitte can be a powerful tool showing where consumer attention is and what is affecting how they spend their money.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
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Tesla Giga Berlin dispute against IG Metall union leads to investigation
As per a report from rbb24, police seized a laptop belonging to an IG Metall member at Tesla Giga Berlin on Tuesday afternoon.
German authorities have opened an investigation into an IG Metall union representative following allegations that a confidential works council meeting at Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin was secretly recorded. The probe follows a criminal complaint filed by Tesla management last week.
As per a report from rbb24, police seized a laptop belonging to an IG Metall member at Tesla Giga Berlin on Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors in Frankfurt (Oder) confirmed that an investigation is underway into a possible unauthorized audio recording of an internal works council meeting.
Under German law, recording a non-public meeting without consent may constitute a criminal offense.
Tesla stated that Gigafactory Berlin employees alerted management after allegedly discovering that an external union representative, who was attending the event as a guest, had recorded the session. Plant manager André Thierig stated in a post on X that the representative was “caught in action,” prompting the company to contact police and file a criminal complaint.
The seized device is now part of the investigation, and authorities will determine whether any unlawful recording had indeed occurred.
IG Metall has denied the accusation. In comments to German media, representatives rejected Tesla’s claim and described the electric vehicle maker’s allegation as an election campaign tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections.
The election at Tesla’s Grünheide plant is scheduled for March 2–4, 2026, with about 11,000 employees being eligible to vote. Regular works council elections in Germany are held every four years between March and May.
The incident comes amid tensions between Tesla and organized labor in Germany. While works councils operate independently from unions, IG Metall has been active at the plant and has previously criticized Tesla’s labor practices. Authorities, for their part, have not yet announced whether charges will be filed, though the investigation remains ongoing.
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Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain.
Tesla is rolling out Grok to vehicles in Europe. The feature will initially launch in nine European territories.
In a post on X, the official Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa account confirmed that Grok is coming to Teslas in Europe. The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain, and additional markets are expected to be added later.
Grok allows drivers to ask questions using real-time information and interact hands-free while driving. According to Tesla’s support documentation, Grok can also initiate navigation commands, enabling users to search for destinations, discover points of interest, and adjust routes without touching the touchscreen, as per the feature’s official webpage.
The system offers selectable personalities, ranging from “Storyteller” to “Unhinged,” and is activated either through the App Launcher or by pressing and holding the steering wheel’s microphone button.
Grok is currently available only on Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck vehicles equipped with an AMD infotainment processor. Vehicles must be running software version 2025.26 or later, with navigation command support requiring version 2025.44.25 or newer.
Drivers must also have Premium Connectivity or a stable Wi-Fi connection to use the feature. Tesla notes that Grok does not currently replace standard voice commands for vehicle controls such as climate or media adjustments.
The company has stated that Grok interactions are processed securely by xAI and are not linked to individual drivers or vehicles. Users do not need a Grok account or subscription to enable the feature at this time as well.
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Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Tesla has officially ended the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that was announced for the United States market in January by CEO Elon Musk.
The driver assistance suite is now exclusively available in the U.S. as a subscription, which is currently priced at $99 per month.
Tesla moved away from the outright purchase option in an effort to move more people to the subscription program, but there are concerns over its current price and the potential for it to rise.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Although Tesla moved back the deadline in other countries, it has now taken effect in the U.S. on Sunday morning. Tesla updated its website to reflect this:
🚨 Tesla has officially moved the outright purchase option for FSD on its website pic.twitter.com/RZt1oIevB3
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 15, 2026
There are still some concerns regarding its price, as $99 per month is not where many consumers are hoping to see the subscription price stay.
Musk has said that as capabilities improve, the price will go up, but it seems unlikely that 10 million drivers will want to pay an extra $100 every month for the capability, even if it is extremely useful.
Instead, many owners and fans of the company are calling for Tesla to offer a different type of pricing platform. This includes a tiered-system that would let owners pick and choose the features they would want for varying prices, or even a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pricing option, which would incentivize longer-term purchasing.
Although Musk and other Tesla are aware of FSD’s capabilities and state is is worth much more than its current price, there could be some merit in the idea of offering a price for Supervised FSD and another price for Unsupervised FSD when it becomes available.
Tesla Giga Berlin dispute against IG Metall union leads to investigation
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
