Opposition to Musk over his alliance with Trump, which has since ruptured in acrimony, caused many liberal Tesla owners in the US and Europe to express embarrassment with their vehicles. Some have even adorned their cars with anti-Musk stickers that feature slogans such as “Anti Elon Tesla Club” or “I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy.”

Both conservative and liberal voters are less likely to purchase an EV because of the association with Elon Musk.

According to Alexandra Flores, a psychologist at Williams College and lead author of the study, the team initially expected that liberals’ views on EVs would remain stable over time, whereas conservatives would start to become more positive about EVs—or at least Teslas—given Musk’s politically rightward lurch in recent years.