Tesla's reputation tanks: Survey ranks it the least-trusted car brand in US - this Japanese brand scores big
ALSO READ: Tyrann Mathieu retires from NFL: A look back at his career and legacyToyota, on the other hand, topped the charts despite having only one EV model, the bZ4X, in the market, the Japanese automaker scored the highest in both net-positive perception and intensity, according to the report.Tesla's fall from grace appears to be accelerating, as per the survey. In April, the company still had a net score of -7, now it's nearly double that in the negative, and the downward trend spans every major demographic, according to the report. Whether urban or suburban, wealthy or working class, and especially among Americans over the age of 65, Tesla is viewed unfavorably, as per the Ars Technica report.
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Only one other brand apart from Tesla, the Vietnamese automaker VinFast, scored a negative net-positive rating, as per the report. But unlike Tesla, 92% of people said they had never heard of it or had no opinion at all, as per the Ars Technica report.
When it comes to trust, the results are no better as Tesla received the lowest net trust score in the EVIR, and a trust integrity score of -19, meaning significantly more people say they 'distrust Tesla a lot' than those who trust it 'a lot,' according to the Ars Technica report.
Despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk frequently touting Tesla's safety credentials, public opinion is no longer buying it, as per the report. After numerous fatal accidents, many linked to Tesla's semi-autonomous driving features, only 52% of survey participants believe Teslas are safe, as per the Ars Technica report. That's the second-worst safety score in the survey, behind only VinFast, according to the report.
ALSO READ: Ozzy Osbourne Family: What we know about the Black Sabbath lead vocalist's wife Sharon and children Aimee, Kelly, Jack, Jessica, Louis, Elliot Musk's ambitious robotaxi dream also appears to be faltering in the court of public opinion, because out of over 8,000 people surveyed, only 1% had ridden in a robotaxi and said they would do it again, as per the Ars Technica report. Meanwhile, the survey found that 46% said they would never consider riding in a robotaxi and more than half believe the technology should not be legal, reported Ars Technica.How does Tesla rank in public trust now?Tesla has the lowest trust and brand perception score among all EV makers surveyed in the US.
Is Tesla seen as a safe car brand? Only 52% of survey respondents believe Tesla cars are safe, which is the second worst in the survey.
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Ankit Somani, co-founder of Conifer, a ferrite magnet-based motor maker, flew down from California to seek opportunities here. The company has set up a plant in Pune to make such motors. Ferrite is a magnetic material mainly composed of iron oxide and other metal oxides. 'Ferrite magnet motors are generally weaker than rare-earth magnets. However, we have figured out a way to have better efficiency and performance than rare earth magnets," Somani said. 'We have developed in-wheel motors that perform much better than the hub motors being used in vehicles right now." With the requirement of power much lower in two-wheelers, the use of ferrite magnet motors is said to be under consideration at most of the top brands making electric scooters and bikes. Among the known names, Ola Electric has taken the lead in introducing rare earth-free motors. 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Using light rare earths, such as Cerium and Neodymium, is a quicker solution, say analysts, noting that new motor architecture takes a lot of time to be tested and certified ready for use. Sona Comstar, the country's eighth largest component maker, has already developed motors using light rare earth and is in the process of testing the new motors. Vivek Vikram Singh, managing director and group chief executive of Sona Comstar, said that light rare earth solutions can be used in the medium term by two- and three-wheeler makers, and even small car manufacturers, as they require less power to run. '[But] all these alternative motors would require months of testing and validation with customers before commercial production can begin," Singh said in response to Mint's queries. 'In the short term, there is no alternative to Chinese heavy rare earth element (HREE) magnets, but in the medium term, HREE-free magnets can be used as viable alternatives." Ather co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta concurs with Singh that the two-wheeler industry can look beyond heavy rare earths and instead use light rare earth magnets. 'The industry has a way of moving past this. Stop using heavy rare-earth magnets. Unlike cars, trucks, or buses, our industry can build motors without using heavy, rare-earth magnets. We can move towards lighter, rare-earth magnets," Mehta explained. While there is visibility over solutions for two-wheeler makers, passenger vehicle companies haven't given a clear indication on which path they intend to take. Both Maruti and Mahindra hinted that their engineers are working on possible solutions. Industry experts and executives say rare earth magnets will not go out of the picture completely. And until they do, the industry will have to figure out a way to get supplies of this critical component. Short-term headache? Although the challenge to figure out viable solutions has been hard, there are expectations that the industry will have alternate technologies ready in the next two years. 'With the pace of development of new technologies and investments being put in, the industry will have solutions ready soon. The dependence on rare earths will eventually reduce in the medium term as the development of the alternative methods is quite advanced," said Subhabrata Sengupta, partner at Avalon Consulting. The country is also working on securing alternative supply chains for critical minerals and developing processing capabilities for rare earth magnets. Since 1950, state-run IREL Ltd has been mining rare earths in the country, and since the crisis began, it has gained the spotlight for its efforts to mine rare earths. Indeed, India is attracting international interest on this front. Japanese company Proterial, formerly known as Hitachi Metals, is looking to set up a rare earth magnet plant in India, according to two people aware of the matter. The company wants to source rare earth ores and oxides from within the country and outside to process Neodymium Ferrite Boron (NdFeB) magnets, one of the strongest forms of rare earth permanent magnets. Hindustan Zinc and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) are among the domestic companies that have expressed interest in mining and processing rare earths. On its part, the government is currently finalising details of a ₹1,345 crore programme to promote the development of rare earth magnets. From mining players to automobile companies, there is a rush to find a solution to the China dependency. While several technologies are showing potential, there will still be questions over their viability until the vehicles they power hit the road and customers embrace them.
