- 51% of Tesla owners chose a pure ICE vehicle as a replacement for their EV in 2024.
- This percentage was far higher in 2020, when 76% of Tesla buyers went back to ICE.
- Buyers are more willing to swap their Tesla for an EV from a legacy automaker.
According to a recent study, the majority of Tesla owners have abandoned their electric vehicles for combustion engine models in 2024, with a mere 32 percent opting to stay electric.
More specifically, 51 percent of Tesla owners shifted to pure internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, while 10 percent transitioned to hybrids and 6 percent chose plug-in hybrids. These trends echo findings from a recent McKinsey & Co. survey, which revealed that nearly half (46 percent) of EV owners in the U.S. are likely to return to combustion-powered vehicles for their next purchase.
More: New Study Finds 46% Of EV Buyers In The US Want To Go Back To ICE
While this might seem alarming for Tesla and the electric vehicle market overall, it actually marks a significant improvement from past figures. According to Edmunds, in 2020, a staggering 76 percent of Tesla owners abandoned their EVs for internal combustion engine vehicles, with only 9 percent transitioning to other electric models. Fortunately for Tesla, these numbers have steadily declined since then.
Traditionally, Tesla owners have demonstrated a marked inclination to exit the EV landscape. This shift may signal that navigating life with an electric vehicle in North America is becoming less challenging as the years progress. However, the current statistics indicate that significant improvements are still necessary to make EV ownership more appealing to the broader populace.
Tesla Trade-In Data
Another compelling observation is that an increasing number of buyers are replacing their Teslas with electric vehicles from legacy automakers. This shift is somewhat predictable, considering Tesla’s transition from an EV trailblazer to facing a plethora of competitors across mainstream segments.
Finally, the chart above clearly indicates that hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are not gaining much traction as alternatives to Teslas. Although these vehicle types are becoming more popular among new car buyers, they seem less appealing to those with previous EV experience.
On the other hand, the proportion of Tesla owners who switch to PHEVs is much higher than the rate of the PHEV market as a whole, likely because these former EV owners have already navigated the challenges of vehicle charging.
