The percentage of Americans who either own or express interest in owning an electric vehicle decreased from 59% in 2023 to 51% in 2024 and remains at the reduced level today, according to Gallup’s annual Environment survey, conducted March 3-16.

Fifty-one percent of US adults report that they either already own an EV (3%); are seriously considering buying one (8%); or might consider buying one in the future (40%). That leaves 47% saying they would not buy one, similar to the 48% a year ago but up from 41% in 2023.

The most eager electric vehicle supporters—those who say they own one or are seriously considering it—declined to 11% this year from 16% in 2024. While statistically significant, the reason for the decline isn’t clear, according to Gallup. It is more pronounced among upper-income and young adults but occurred among Democrats and Republicans.

The poll coincided with mounting protests and acts of vandalism against Tesla electric vehicle products and facilities, prompted by opposition to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency. President Donald Trump’s purchase of a Tesla car on 11 March, which reportedly led to a $56-billion increase in the company’s stock, occurred toward the end of the field period.

In addition to gauging Americans’ interest in electric vehicles, the latest survey included a new question measuring public preferences for hybrid vehicles. Hybrids, which run on both gasoline and electric power, may have gained appeal because they address concerns people have about the reliability of driving and charging fully electric vehicles, Gallup said.

Sixty-five percent of US adults either own a hybrid vehicle (8%); are seriously considering buying one (10%); or are open to buying one in the future (47%). Interest in hybrids exceeds EVs in both current ownership (8% vs. 3%, respectively) and potential buying (57% vs. 48%).

Most subgroups of Americans became less likely in 2024 to indicate that they own an EV, are seriously considering buying one or might consider it in the future, and many of those patterns remain in place today. Still, some groups’ affinity for EVs has declined more than others.

The groups most likely to express interest in EVs in 2023—Democrats, liberals, young adults, college graduates, and residents of the West—are (except for liberals) the ones that have shown the biggest declines, according to Gallup. Despite this, political liberals (78%) and Democrats (71%) remain the most likely of all major demographic and political subgroups reviewed to be current or prospective electric vehicle consumers. This contrasts with 32% of conservatives and 31% of Republicans.

Also, despite reduced interest since 2023, young adults (those aged 18 to 34), college graduates, middle- and upper-income Americans, and residents of the West remain more inclined than their counterparts to have their eye on EVs.

Americans’ greater interest in owning a hybrid than owning a fully electric car is seen across demographic and party subgroups. But affinity for hybrids over EVs is particularly elevated among Republicans (24 percentage points higher, at 55%) and conservatives (19 points higher, at 51%). This puts these groups closer to the national average for interest in hybrid vehicles compared with their interest in EVs.

Older Americans are much more likely to say they’d consider buying a hybrid car than an EV, creating a much smaller age gap with young adults on hybrid cars than is seen on EVs.

By contrast, differences by income are wider for hybrid vehicles than for EVs, the result of middle- and upper-income Americans showing significantly more interest in hybrids than they do in EVs. Seventy-four percent of Americans earning $100,000 or more in annual household income say they own or might like to own a hybrid vehicle, compared with 56% who say the same about EVs. Similarly, 72% of those earning between $50,000 and $99,999 a year indicate a desire to own hybrid cars, versus 53% for electric. Meanwhile, just under half of Americans earning less than $50,000 are interested in either electric vehicles (47%) or hybrids (48%).

Americans’ modestly reduced interest in ever owning an electric vehicle predates the recent publicity challenges facing Tesla, the biggest player in the EV market, Gallup noted. Still, while the decline measured in 2024 may have reflected practical concerns, the continuation of attitudes at that lower level may reflect recent political ones.