What Does Tesla's Decline in Google Searches Tell Us?

The popularity indicator of a manufacturer is defined by online searches on Google, and searches for Tesla have dropped by 34% in two months.

This is a very interesting underlying trend. The constant tightening of the ecological bonus, which has decreased from 7,000 to 4,000 euros over two years in France, and its disappearance in Germany and elsewhere, will it spell the end for electric cars?

In any case, it’s a very real hypothesis as articles discussing a slowdown in electric vehicle sales multiply. The artificial support for this market, through large fiscal incentives that strain national finances and disturb external trade balances, is reaching its limits. Consumers are only moved by carrots (you have that image in mind?), leading to the conclusion that internal combustion engines still have many good days ahead because public awareness has not yet grasped the importance of a paradigm shift in energy consumption.

In France, the removal of the ecological bonus on the Tesla Model 3, as well as the reduction of this bonus to 4,000 euros, has caused a drastic drop in Tesla searches on Google.

With an index of 100 on December 24, 2023, it is now only 66 as of February 20, 2024. Google is the most significant barometer of public opinion nowadays. All searches are recorded and analyzed. A one-third decrease is considered very significant over such a short period.

At the same time, the stock market price has also collapsed

It is impossible to draw a parallel between the decline in interest in France and the fall in stock value. Unless the trend is widespread? Tesla produces excellent products, but it does not innovate enough. Its range is too limited and expensive for the average driver. The market for this niche of CSP+ classes is beginning to saturate, and new players are emerging every day.

Nevertheless, on the graph below, two new opposing curves appear. In red, that of the new electric Renault Scenic, and in yellow, what could be a superstar: the Peugeot 3008.

Interest in French models?

Two large yellow peaks are visible on this graph. The first dates from December 15, 2023, the day the ecological bonus was removed for the Tesla Model 3. Popular confusion was at its peak: did Tesla lose the bonus entirely? So, what is the best French alternative now?

The second peak is even more telling: the launch of the commercialization of the Peugeot 3008 hybrid and E-3008. Public interest did decrease afterward, but it remains twice as high as that for the Tesla Model Y, for example.

Tesla’s response now is unpredictable: continuous price cuts to stay competitive or, as in Germany, raising prices to increase margins (or in Germany). The dilemma is real for the American manufacturer.