EV powerhouse Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) maintains a robust brand image, defying a spate of recalls and negative press, according to a recent survey. However, a stark contrast emerges between perceptions of owners and non-owners, underscoring the polarization surrounding a company helmed by a bold and unapologetic CEO.

What Happened: Tesla has been grappling with numerous recalls recently due to issues ranging from steering problems to malfunctioning rearview cameras and defective parts.

Despite these challenges, Tesla's brand image has shown resilience, according to a YouGov BrandIndex report that shows that the EV giant's Buzz scores (what consumers have been hearing about a brand) averaged a negative score of -7.1 in 2023, indicating a general negative sentiment.

However, among Tesla's current customer base, the Buzz scores were considerably more positive, averaging a net score of 61.8.

Consideration scores, which measure the likelihood of a consumer considering a brand for a future purchase, remained relatively stable throughout 2023. Among current Tesla owners, 70% indicated they would consider buying a Tesla again.

Furthermore, 7.7% of the US population stated they would consider Tesla for their next car purchase, showing that the brand's recalls have not significantly impacted consumer consideration.

Why It Matters: The recent recalls, including the massive recall of 2 million vehicles in December 2023 due to Autopilot system issues and the recall of 3,878 Cybertrucks in April 2024 over unintended acceleration risk, have put Tesla's reliability under scrutiny.

However, Tesla's resilience can probably be attributed to its low maintenance and repair costs, coupled with CEO Elon Musk's commitment to the brand despite initial doubts about its success, even though many analysts and investors have strongly criticized his leadership style.

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