EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD
Your high-voltage overview of the current EV and self-driving vehicle landscape
High-income consumers favor Toyota and Honda. Toyota ranks highest with consumers earning $150,000 or more on positivity (+52) and trust (+72), followed closely by Honda (+47 net positive; +70 net trust). Tesla ranks lowest on both positivity and trust with these consumers—and is the only brand tested with underwater brand view (-9) and trust intensity (-11) scores.
Emerging brands gain ground with high-income consumers. Consumers earning $150,000 or more are more familiar than lower earners with smaller EV brands such as Rivian, Lucid and Genesis—and as EV tax credits phase out, these brands could capture more of the market Tesla has long relied upon.
Parents are skeptical of Tesla. Parents with children under 18 rank Tesla last out of all brands tested when it comes to positivity, trust and safety. These consumers view Tesla as the second least “family-friendly” brand. When asked about self-driving use cases, parents mostly imagine trying AVs after drinking or when too tired to drive, but not for family needs like school drop offs—demonstrating wariness from parents around family use cases for AV technology.
Waymo has narrow support for its testing rollout in New York City, while Tesla faces strong opposition. A plurality (43%) of New York City consumers support Waymo testing its self-driving technology there, while half oppose (50% oppose, 33% support) Tesla testing its self-driving technology in the city —another indication of unique consumer trepidation towards Tesla. When it comes to AVs, New York City consumers are primarily concerned with pedestrian safety and are anxious about New York City streets being too complex for self-driving cars to maneuver through.
ABOUT EVIR & METHODOLOGY
The Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report tracks actionable insights on consumer attitudes, trends, and perceptions across the evolving U.S. EV landscape. Our proprietary research methodology delivers real-time insights into how people are thinking about the future of driving.
For our high-income consumer sample, EVIR collected responses from 2,119 U.S. consumers earning over $150,000 a year from April 10 to August 16, 2025, aggregating respondents from multiple waves of our monthly consumer surveys. For our parents sample, EVIR surveyed 817 consumers with children under the age of 18 from September 19-September 24 , 2025. For our New York City sample, EVIR surveyed 750 consumers in New York City from September 19-September 24 , 2025. All samples were weighted by education, race, gender, age, income, geography, and political preference to uncover the truths behind what’s powering or stalling the EV and self-driving car transition.
THE LONG HAUL: TRENDS TO WATCH
What to watch in the fast-moving market, and where the data is going
Can Tesla arrest its collapse with families? Parental skepticism on Tesla is deep. Not only do parents largely distrust the brand, but these consumers also give Tesla some of the lowest marks on safety and family-friendliness. As families consider self-driving use cases for convenience rather than family needs (like school drop-offs), is Tesla at risk of losing out on this portion of the market entirely?
Affluent consumers are up for grabs. High-income consumers make up the largest share of the EV market, and Tesla’s positivity and trust ratings with this group are the lowest of any EV brand. With EV tax credits winding down and Tesla’s reputation on the ropes, can brands like Rivian, Lucid, and Genesis make greater inroads with these consumers?
Will Tesla’s brand baggage keep its AVs out of New York? Consumers in the city are far more open to Waymo than Tesla testing self-driving cars, underscoring how brand perceptions can shape attitudes towards AV adoption in key markets throughout the country. Can Waymo capitalize on Tesla’s reputational troubles in New York and beyond?
Can AVs conquer big cities, or will residents balk? New York City consumers aren’t sold on the introduction of autonomous vehicles to their streets. With pedestrian safety and the complexity of urban streets registering as top concerns for AVs in NYC, can self-driving cars overcome this initial resistance in New York, and will other big cities be similarly hard to crack?
THE FAST LANE: MARKET INSIGHTS
A summary of the data from this month’s report
- Japanese brands lead in positive perception, trust, and family-friendliness among affluent consumers. Among high-income consumers (earning $150,000 or more), Toyota (+52 net positive, +72 net trust) and Honda (+47 net positive, +70 net trust) are the EV brands that are most positively viewed and most trusted. High-income consumers also perceive these two as both the most safe and the most family-friendly.
- Tesla struggles with consumers earning $150,000 or more, with just a +1 net positive and a +5 net trust rating. Its view intensity score is negative (-9) as is its trust intensity score (-11), making it the only EV brand tested in this group to land underwater on both measures.
- While smaller EV brands such as Rivian, Lucid, and Genesis struggle with brand awareness overall, high-income consumers are significantly more likely than others to be familiar with these brands, placing pressure on Tesla as EV credits come to an end and high-income consumers constitute a greater share of the EV market.
- Among parents with children under 18, Tesla ranks lowest on positivity (+13 net positive), trust (+14 net trust), and safety (63%)—it is the second-lowest-ranked brand when it comes to family friendliness. A striking 40% of parents distrust Tesla, the highest level of distrust for any brand tested, underscoring the brand’s weak reputation with families.
- Notably, family-friendly use cases for AVs fall flat with parents. The top three scenarios where parents would use a self-driving car are for convenience or novelty, such as after drinking alcohol (21%), to try something new (14%), or when too tired to drive (13%), with only 2% citing child drop-off as a potential use case.
- While New York City customers express skepticism about autonomous vehicles in the city, they are more open to Waymo testing its self-driving technology than they are to the prospect of Tesla doing the same. A plurality of New York City consumers (43%) approve of the local government’s decision to allow Waymo to test its self-driving technology in the city, while 36% of New Yorkers disapprove.
- Conversely, a majority of NYC consumers (50%) oppose allowing Tesla to test its self-driving technology in the city (33% support). This 17-point opposition to allowing Tesla to test its technology in New York represents a 24-point swing from consumer approval for Waymo to conduct testing, highlighting Tesla’s brand baggage.
- NYC consumers prioritize pedestrian safety and regulatory caution for AVs. The primary concern for NYC consumers regarding autonomous vehicles is the safety of pedestrians (38%), followed by the belief that NYC streets are too complicated for self-driving cars (33%). Fifty percent of NYC consumers believe autonomous vehicles will be either “mostly bad” or “somewhat bad” for the city overall.
EV Brand Perception: High-Income Consumers
Among high-income consumers (those earning $150,000 or more), Toyota is the EV brand viewed most positively by a significant margin, with both the highest net positive view (+52) and the highest view intensity score (23). Honda ranks second in both net positive view (+47) and view intensity (17). BMW and Audi follow in view intensity score, ranking third (16) and fourth (15), with their net positive rankings reversed.
The brands with the lowest net positive views in this group are GMC (+15), Lucid (+13), and Tesla (+1). Tesla is the only brand with a negative view intensity score among high-income consumers.
EV Brand Perception: Positive vs. Negative View
High-Income Consumers
* View Intensity score is the share of consumers who say they have a “very” positive view of the brand minus the share of consumers who say they have a “very” negative view of the brand.
As with positive perception of the brand, high-income consumers rank Toyota highest in terms of trust—giving it both the highest net trust (+72) and the highest trust intensity score (38)—and Honda second-highest (+70 net trust; trust intensity score of 30). BMW and Audi follow, somewhat further behind, with the third- and fourth-highest net trust and trust intensity scores.
Kia (+36), GMC (+34), and Tesla (+5) rank lowest on net trust. Similar to positive perception, Tesla is the only brand with a negative trust intensity score among high-income consumers.
EV Brand Perception: Trust
High-Income Consumers
** Trust intensity score is the share of consumers who say they trust a brand “a lot” minus the share of consumers who say they distrust a brand “a lot”.
The EV brands high-income consumers most view as luxury are Porsche and BMW, followed somewhat further behind by Audi and Cadillac; Hyundai, Chevrolet, Honda, and Ford rank at the bottom on this measure.
High-income consumers see Honda and Toyota as both the most safe and good for families. Among this group, BMW and Audi rank third and fourth in terms of safety perception, while Ford, Chevrolet, and Nissan round out the top five on family-friendliness.
EV Brand Perception & Autonomous Vehicle Use Cases: Parents
Among parents with children under 18, Toyota stands out with the strongest results, posting the highest net positive rating (+54) and intensity score (27). Honda follows in second with a +47 net positive and an intensity score of 20, while BMW rounds out the top three with a +41 net positive and an intensity score of 17.
Meanwhile, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid ranked as the weakest performers with parents. Tesla drew the highest share of negative views among all brands tested (28%), while Rivian (+15) and Lucid (+10) struggled primarily with low familiarity—61% of parents are unfamiliar with Rivian and 68% with Lucid.
EV Brand Perception: Positive vs. Negative View
Consumers with Children Under 18 in Household
* View Intensity score is the share of consumers who say they have a “very” positive view of the brand minus the share of consumers who say they have a “very” negative view of the brand.
When it comes to brands which parents trust the most, Toyota continues to lead the way. Toyota comes in with the highest net trust rating (+73) and the highest intensity score (40) of every brand tested. As was the case with positivity, Honda follows Toyota in second (+71 net trust and 33 intensity) while BMW comes in as the third most trusted brand with these respondents (+64 net trust and 27 intensity). Tesla , Kia and Rivian perform worst with parents when it comes to trust. Out of the brands tested, Tesla had the lowest net trust rating (+14) and intensity score (4). The brand faced the steepest skepticism from parents with 40% of whom expressed distrust.
EV Brand Perception: Trust
Consumers with Children Under 18 in Household
** Trust intensity score is the share of consumers who say they trust a brand “a lot” minus the share of consumers who say they distrust a brand “a lot”.
The EV brands high-income consumers most view as luxury are Porsche and BMW, followed somewhat further behind by Audi and Cadillac; Hyundai, Chevrolet, Honda, and Ford rank at the bottom on this measure.
High-income consumers see Honda and Toyota as both the most safe and good for families. Among this group, BMW and Audi rank third and fourth in terms of safety perception, while Ford, Chevrolet, and Nissan round out the top five on family-friendliness.
When asked which scenarios they could imagine using a self-driving car, parents with children under 18 were most likely to say they would consider it after drinking alcohol (21%), simply to try something new (14%), or because they were too tired to drive (13%). Smaller but notable shares cited convenience-oriented reasons such as using the time in transit to complete other tasks or relax (11%), avoiding the hassle of parking (11%), or steering clear of traffic (10%). Cost savings, caregiving, long trips, and avoiding interactions with drivers each registered at 8%, while very few expressed interest in use cases such as child drop-off (2%) or using an autonomous vehicle to impress others (2%).
Consumer Perception: Autonomous Vehicles in NYC
A plurality of New York City consumers, 43%, approve of the local government’s decision to allow Waymo to test its self-driving technology in the city, while 36% disapprove and 20% are not sure. Majorities of consumers with children under 18 (60%), consumers with incomes between $75,000-100,000 (58%), younger consumers (54%), and Republican consumers (53%) approve of the decision. The only group that registers majority disapproval is consumers over the age 65 (57%).
On the question of whether Waymo should be allowed to operate in New York City if testing shows its technology is safe, the numbers break down along similar lines: 44% of New York City consumers support, 39% oppose, and 20% are unsure. A majority of consumers with incomes $75,000-$100,000 (65%) and over $150,000 (53%) and consumers with children under 18 (62%) support it, as do 50% of Republican consumers. Again, the only group that registers majority opposition is consumers over 65 (62%).
Support for the prospect of Tesla testing its self-driving technology in New York City is lower than that for Waymo. Thirty-three percent of New York City consumers support, 50% oppose, and 16% are unsure. The only group that registers majority support for Tesla testing its technology in New York City is consumers making $75,000-$100,000 a year. A majority of consumers over age 65 (64%), consumers with income under $75,000 (51%), between $100,000 and $150,000 (52%), and over $150,000 (60%), consumers without children under 18 (54%), and Democratic consumers (55%) disapprove.
Fifty percent of New York City consumers think that autonomous vehicles and self-driving cars will be bad for the city overall, while 29% think they will be good for the city overall and 22% are unsure. Skepticism about AVs and self-driving cars is strongest among consumers over age 65 (68%), those with income between $100,000 and $150,000 (62%), those without children under 18 (57%), and Democrats (53%).
Forty-two percent of consumers think that AVs and self-driving cars will be bad for New York City’s economy, while 42% think they will be good and 27% are unsure. Fifty-five percent think AVs and self-driving cars will be bad for traffic in New York City, 23% think they will be good, and 22% are unsure.
NYC consumers are broadly cautious or skeptical about the prospect of autonomous vehicles and self-driving cars operating in the city. When asked to choose between three views, only 21% express strong support, seeing the technology as something the city should embrace now. Forty percent express openness to the technology that is conditional on extensive additional testing, regulation, and oversight. An almost equal share (39%) reject the idea of autonomous vehicles and self-driving cars operating in the city entirely, citing safety and traffic concerns as well as distrust of tech corporations.
When the question is framed more starkly—with only two options—a significant majority (64%) say elected officials should keep self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles out of the city for the foreseeable future, emphasizing distrust of tech corporations and safety concerns. Just over a third (36%) view the vehicles as promising technology that will increase safety and allow New York City to make progress.
