Elon Musk’s politics hurt Tesla’s millions of dollars in U.S. car sales: Yale study
Since acquiring Twitter (now X) in 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s political presence has caused Tesla’s U.S. car sales to drop by more than 1 million vehicles, according to a Yale University study.
Strong Points
- The best AI assistant in your car
- FSD works well (most of the time)
- impressive technology
Cons
- Ride comfort could be better
- FSD is not fully autonomous
- No more EV tax credit
What is Tesla without controversy and divisiveness?
of Tesla Model Y‘s midcycle refresh brought significant changes enough to earn it a spot in the 2026 SUV of the Year contest. of The complete list of updates is hugebut the highlights are important. Tesla didn’t just upgrade the details. We’ve made meaningful improvements across the board and addressed many of the shortcomings that have previously held compact SUVs back.
That’s not to say the updated Model Y, known to enthusiasts as the Juniper, is perfect. From the beginning, the judges were divided. In fact, Tesla recently MotorTrend’s 7 SUV Comparison Test in the Segment. At the time, ride comfort, value, and technology proved to be the main issues, and the same arguments resurfaced during SUV of the Year deliberations.
Ride discomfort was one of the biggest challenges to the Model Y before the refresh. Tesla addressed this issue by reworking the suspension to give it a smoother, more composed feel. Although the improvement was obvious, some judges felt the ride quality still lagged behind rival EVs. “While the SUV’s ride quality has improved, it’s still below par among EVs in this competition,” said Associate Editor Billy Rehbock. “The Tesla hides a lot of the stiffness with sound deadening, but you can still hear and feel the rear suspension thumping behind you.”
Technology was also a flashpoint. Years into its lifecycle, the Model Y continues to be the benchmark that many automakers use to develop small electric SUVs. Its standout features include Tesla’s route planner, a simplified infotainment menu, integration of Grok, Twitter’s conversational AI, and, most controversially, fully autonomous driving (with supervision). The justices were divided on Grok. While some praised Tesla for offering one of the most natural voice AIs in the industry, others pointed out that it cannot be fully integrated to handle the vehicle’s core functions, instead relying on Tesla’s own built-in voice assistant.
In terms of self-driving performance, some judges were impressed with the Model Y’s ability to navigate semi-autonomously through traffic, both in the city and on the highway. It’s impressive to sit behind the wheel and watch the car manage traffic lights and stop signs, make careful right turns, and confidently merge into fast-moving traffic. However, like any other driver assistance system, the driver must always be attentive when FSD (Supervised) is active. And while the technology has been dazzling at times, some judges criticized the inconsistency in handling certain scenarios and lacked confidence in the handover between computers and humans.
“It’s not that I don’t have complete faith in FSD; I just don’t have confidence that they can intervene in time,” said features editor Scott Evans. “Tesla continues to allow its cars to get into situations it cannot handle, and instead of immediately returning control to the driver, it allows its cars to operate beyond its capabilities, leaving unsuspecting drivers in dangerous situations.”
Despite all the controversy, the Model Y won a lot of praise. “It’s still the gold standard for EVs in the U.S.,” said Editor-in-Chief Ed Roe. “The $63,630 price is a benchmark for premium EV SUVs, but it’s definitely polarizing among our staff.” That is, some of us love its features, while others think its drawbacks are too great to overcome. And it was that polarization more than anything else that prevented Tesla’s refreshed Model Y from advancing to the finalist round.
This review is conducted as part of the 2026 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) test, in which each vehicle is evaluated based on six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value and performance of intended features. Eligible vehicles must be completely new or significantly modified.
Photo credit: Lenz Daun
