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Tesla approval rating dips into negative territory: survey

Credit: @syncwraps/Instagram

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Tesla’s approval rating among consumers seems to be dropping. The downtrend happened this year amidst CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly vocal political statements on social media. Musk’s polarizing political leanings have become apparent following his turbulent takeover of social media company Twitter.

According to a survey by UK-based research firm YouGov, Tesla’s approval rating actually fell pretty quickly. YouGov conducts surveys to test the perception of consumer perceptions of thousands of brands, including Tesla, which has been included on the company’s list since 2016. 

YouGov noted that typically, more consumers had an overall positive view of the electric automaker, and this was true until the first half of this year. At the start of 2022, Tesla had a net positive score of 5.9%, and in May, this number peaked at 6.7%. It should be noted that in May, Musk’s Twitter takeover plans have already been made public. By early November, however, Tesla’s approval rating had fallen to -1.4%. 

Considering that Tesla’s approval rating peaked this year a month after Musk shared his intentions to purchase Twitter, then it seems safe to assume that the change in the EV maker’s approval rating was not fully due to the CEO’s acquisition of the social media platform. Instead, the reason may very well be political. As noted by The Wall Street Journal, “self-described liberals now view Tesla more negatively than conservatives, though conservatives also have a negative view of the brand on average.”

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The same trend was observed by another survey company, Morning Consult, which is based in the USA. Morning Consult’s survey notes that around the end of November, about 38% of Americans had a positive view of Tesla, while 22% viewed the company negatively. At the start of 2022, 43% of Americans viewed Tesla positively, while only 15% had a negative opinion of the company.

A political divide became quite evident in Morning Consult’s surveys. In October, 24.8% of self-described Democrats had a positive view of the electric car manufacturer, but at the end of November, this number had dropped to 10.4%. The opposite trend was observed among Conservatives, with self-described Republicans seeing their perception of Tesla improve from 20% to 26.5% during the same period.

While Tesla is a separate entity from Elon Musk, it is quite difficult to separate the EV maker from its CEO. This was highlighted by Jordan Marlatt, a tech analyst at Morning Consult. “It’s very, very hard to separate the company from the man. He has a lot more critics than he used to,” the analyst said. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features

“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has shipped out an update for its vehicles that was caused specifically by a California lawsuit that threatened the company’s ability to sell cars because of how it named its driver assistance suite.

Tesla shipped out Software Update 2026.2.9 starting last week; we received it already, and it only brings a few minor changes, mostly related to how things are referenced.

“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”

The following changes came to Tesla vehicles in the update:

  • Navigate on Autopilot has now been renamed to Navigate on Autosteer
  • FSD Computer has been renamed to AI Computer

Tesla faced a 30-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles stated the company had to come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated driving features.

The agency confirmed on February 18 that it had taken a “corrective action” to resolve the issue. That corrective action was renaming certain parts of its ADAS.

Tesla discontinued its standalone Autopilot offering in January and ramped up the marketing of Full Self-Driving Supervised. Tesla had said on X that the issue with naming “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.”

It is now compliant with the wishes of the California DMV, and we’re all dealing with it now.

This was the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” names. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was one of those federal-level employees who had an issue with the names “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”

Tesla sued the California DMV over the ruling last week.

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Tesla workers push back against Giga Berlin unionization

“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”

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Tesla workers pushed back against unionization efforts at Gigafactory Berlin, and over the past few years, there has been a dramatic decrease in interest to unionize at the German plant.

Gigafactory Berlin Plant Manager André Thierig announced on Wednesday that IG Metall, the European union group, saw its share reduce from 40 to 31 percent in 2026 as employees eligible to vote on the issue. Instead, the Giga Berlin team, known as Giga United, received the most votes with more than 40 percent.

Thierig gave specific details in a post on X:

“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”

There were over 10,700 total employees who were eligible to vote, with 87 percent of them turning out to cast what they wanted. There were three key outcomes: Giga United, IG Metall, and other notable groups, with the most popular being the Polish Initiative.

The 37-seat council remains dominated by non-unionized representatives, preserving Giga Berlin as Germany’s only major auto plant without a collective bargaining agreement.

Thierig and Tesla framed the outcome as employee support for an “independent, flexible, and unbureaucratic” future, enabling acceleration on projects like potential expansions or new models. IG Metall expressed disappointment, accusing management of intimidation tactics and an “unfair” campaign.

The first election of this nature happened back in 2022. In 2024, IG Metall emerged as the largest single faction with 39.4 percent, but non-union lists coalesced for a majority.

But this year was different. There was some extra tension at Giga Berlin this year, as just two weeks ago, an IG Metall rep was accused by Tesla of secretly recording a council meeting. The group countersued for defamation.

Tesla Giga Berlin plant manager faces defamation probe after IG Metall union complaint

This result from the 2026 vote reinforced Tesla’s model of direct employee-management alignment over traditional German union structures, amid ongoing debates about working conditions. IG Metall views it as a setback but continues advocacy. Tesla sees it as validation of its approach in a competitive EV market.

This outcome may influence future labor dynamics at Giga Berlin, including any revival of expansion plans or product lines, which Musk has talked about recently.

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SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell details xAI power pledge at White House event

The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.

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Credit: xAI

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that xAI will develop 1.2 gigawatts of power at its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the White House’s new “Ratepayer Protection Pledge.” 

The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.

During the White House event, Shotwell stated that xAI’s AI data center near Memphis would include a major energy installation designed to support the facility’s power needs.

“As you know, xAI builds huge supercomputers and data centers and we build them fast. Currently, we’re building one on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors… 

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“xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.

She added that the system would provide significant backup power capacity.

“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”

Shotwell also noted that xAI will be supporting the area’s water supply as well. 

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“We haven’t talked about it yet, but this is actually quite important. We will build state-of-the-art water recycling plants that will protect approximately 4.7 billion gallons of water from the Memphis aquifer each year. And we will employ thousands of American workers from around the city of Memphis on both sides of the TN-MS border,” she noted. 

The Ratepayer Protection Pledge was introduced as part of the federal government’s effort to address concerns about rising electricity costs tied to large AI data centers, as noted in an Insider report. Under the agreement, companies developing major AI infrastructure projects committed to covering their own power generation needs and avoiding additional costs for local ratepayers.

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