Are people over Tesla? How Musk’s behavior is impacting solar sales

“Tesla and Musk are difficult to separate. It’s amazing how his erratic behavior has affected my enjoyment of what is still a great piece of technology.”

Zach from Massachusetts has been a satisfied Tesla customer; he loves his Tesla car and Tesla Energy solar panel system. But he tells EnergySage he’ll never buy from the company again because of CEO Elon Musk’s recent involvement in politics.

“I won’t spend more money supporting a company and a brand antithetical to my beliefs. My kids are embarrassed to be in a Tesla now,” Zach says.

Musk is no stranger to controversy, but things have heightened since he joined the Trump White House. There have been protests at Tesla dealerships, and some Tesla owners are slapping anti-Elon bumper stickers on their vehicles. Meanwhile, both Tesla stock and vehicle sales are falling to lows not seen in years, and many analysts say one reason could be Musk’s political activities deterring customers. A prominent investor is now calling for him to step down, saying the business is “in a crisis.”

“The company’s reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk. You literally can’t sell the best product in the market because the CEO is so divisive,” Ross Gerber said in an interview with Sky Business Live.

While Ross is referring to Tesla vehicles, few, if any, public reports mention one of the company’s other top products, the Tesla Powerwall 3, which is one of the most sought-after solar batteries by homeowners and installers.

“Recently, each sales call is either ‘hates Tesla’ or ‘wants Tesla,’” said Martyna Kowalczyk, CEO of Solartime USA. “Before the election, you might not have liked Elon Musk, but you still drove a Tesla, you still bought a Powerwall 3. Now our messages from customers are very, very polarized.”

This experience isn’t unique to Solartime; EnergySage has seen a recent surge of solar shoppers asking about Tesla in the Marketplace, with many requesting alternative brands specifically because of Musk’s involvement with politics.

Could his behavior be the downfall of the Powerwall? Here’s what we’re seeing.

Musk’s behavior may have turned off customers before his alignment with President Trump. According to a Reuters report, Tesla’s vehicle consideration score had already started dropping in 2022 and saw a steep decline in January 2024. The cited reason for the decline was a “strong association between Tesla's reputation and that of Musk.”

Things have escalated since Musk became a senior advisor to the White House and started working closely with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a new federal agency established with his help—to eliminate wasteful spending in D.C. Many were outraged at his controversial salute after the inauguration, and he’s since been at the helm of more than 62,000 federal layoffs.

Meanwhile, Tesla saw nine consecutive weeks of losses, including its worst day on the market in four years. Vehicle sales are down globally and the new auto tariffs are expected to hit Tesla hard. Musk himself has lost over $132 billion in net worth compared to this time last year.

EnergySage reached out to Tesla for comment on these trends, but did not hear back.

Tesla Energy has seen declines in solar installations

While best known for EVs, Tesla is also a big player in the solar industry, making waves for its innovative Solar Roof. However, according to data analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, the company has been consistently losing share in the solar installation market.

“When Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016, it held a strong position in the residential solar installation market with a 16% market share. However, the company has steadily lost market share since. Most recently in 2024, the company held only 1.6% of the market,” said Max Issokson, a research analyst for Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie doesn’t have any 2025 data yet to determine if Musk’s politics could now be driving a steeper decline, but Issokson said the steady decline over the past decade is mainly due to a company re-prioritization.

“Right now, Tesla’s focus in the energy space is on selling hardware and storage, not doing solar installations,” said Issokson.

He’s talking about Tesla’s Powerwall batteries and inverters, which gained quote share in their respective markets in 2024. Their most notable product is the new Powerwall 3—a sleek, powerful, affordable, and easy-to-install battery that’s understandably a favorite among homeowners and solar installers.

The Powerwall 3 hit the U.S. market in early 2024 and quickly drove up Tesla's battery market share: In less than a year, it became the most quoted battery brand on the EnergySage Marketplace, with a share of 64% in Q4 2024, compared to just 18% in Q1 2024.

In April, Tesla released its financial results, which stated that President Trump's tariffs and "changing political sentiment" could have a "meaningful impact" on its products in the near future. Tesla noted that these tariffs would have a larger impact on its Energy business than on automotive.

Since Musk’s involvement with the White House, there’s not much public data on how Musk’s political actions may be affecting Tesla Energy sales, but we're seeing some early indicators.

Tesla's still the most quoted and chosen battery brand on EnergySage to date—by far. But EnergySage Marketplace data show a slight drop in the percentage of homeowners choosing Tesla batteries since Musk gained some government power.

From January 1 through January 19, about 73% of homeowners selected a battery quote that included the Tesla Powerwall. That number dropped to 64% between January 20 and March 10.

That could be partly due to the current Powerwall 3 shortage, but there's also been a massive spike in messages expressing negative sentiment toward Tesla through the EnergySage Marketplace.

Homeowners receiving quotes mentioned Tesla more than twice as often in emails in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same time last year; 13.5% expressed unfavorable views towards Tesla or Musk, while 68% specifically requested a Tesla alternative.

Many of these messages were from homeowners who explicitly refused to purchase Tesla products because they disagreed with Musk’s politics.

“I can’t support Hitler-loving Musk. Any alternative to Tesla?” one homeowner asked an EnergySage-certified installer.

About 68% of anti-Tesla messages included specific requests for alternative brands. Some mentioned positive sentiment toward the products themselves, but an unwillingness to support the Tesla brand.

“Do you offer a battery from a supplier other than Tesla? Though we have a Tesla Powerwall and love it, and we love our Tesla Model 3 and Y, we are outraged at Musk’s politics, so we don’t wish to send him more money,” wrote one homeowner.

A Solar Energy Advisor Manager at a top solar installation company based in North Carolina says roughly 78% of the batteries he sold in 2024 were Powerwalls. With an influx of requests for non-Tesla equipment in 2025, the company is seeing a new trend emerge this year.

“The last 14 deals I’ve sold as a manager have all been Franklin batteries,” he told EnergySage. FranklinWH offers a battery called the aPower 2—it’s very similar to the Tesla Powerwall 3, but without the baggage.

The manger has been steering homeowners towards the Franklin aPower 2 battery, not necessarily because of Musk, but because he genuinely believes it’s a better product for most homeowners.

While the percentage of homeowners selecting Tesla batteries has dropped, the percentage of EnergySage quotes including Tesla batteries has stayed roughly the same: 61% of battery quotes included Tesla from January 1-19, compared to 58% from January 20-March 10.

Especially considering there's a Powerwall 3 shortage, 3% is not a big drop. So, are solar installers also being turned off by Musk’s actions?

Some are, some aren’t.

Kowalczyk of Solartime USA says her responsibility as an installer and educator is to help homeowners go solar and stay out of “political battles.”  She believes the Powerwall is the best battery and says her Texas-based team still receives more requests from homeowners wanting the Powerwall than those seeking alternatives.

“We have to stay neutral and look at each product and value it based on its capabilities and not emotions. If we start being political, if we start not offering one or the other, we will lose literally 50% of the market,” Kowalczyk said.

Other installers are taking a harder stance against Tesla, encouraging homeowners to choose other products.

Kevin O’Grady, project manager at SmartRoof Capital, says there likely won’t be a significant drop in Powerwall sales unless installers stop offering it—and he’s encouraging them to.

“There's been enough bad actors in solar in the past, we don’t want to continue to help one of the richest bad actors of all time,” O’Grady said.“There are plenty of great inverter and battery options out there that will give you an incredibly high-quality system without compromising your morals.”