Tesla sales fall 45% in Europe amid political blowback to Elon Musk
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A sticker reading “I bought this before Elon went crazy” is pictured on a Tesla electric car at a charging station in Berlin, Germany.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON - Tesla’s sales in January plunged 45 per cent across Europe, where rival carmakers saw a surge in electric vehicle (EV) demand.
The company registered only 9,945 cars in January, down from 18,161 a year ago, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
EV sales soared 37 per cent for the overall industry, with carmakers posting big gains in Germany and Britain.
Tesla is changing over production lines for by far its most popular vehicle, the Model Y sport utility vehicle, and contending with its chief executive Elon Musk becoming an increasingly polarising figure in global politics.
After emerging as a leading donor to Mr Donald Trump during 2024’s US election cycle, Mr Musk set his sights on Europe, backing far-right parties and attacking incumbents.
In addition to barraging leaders in Germany and Britain, Mr Musk has joined Mr Trump in disparaging Ukraine’s Mr Volodymyr Zelensky and disputing polls that have found the Ukrainian President maintains the support of the country’s people.
In response to Mr Trump’s criticisms, Mr Zelensky said last week the US President had fallen victim to Russian “disinformation”.
Tesla registered only 1,277 new cars in January in Germany, its lowest monthly total since July 2021. Sales in France plummeted 63 per cent in its worst showing there since August 2022.
The company also registered fewer vehicles than China’s BYD for the first time in Britain. Tesla’s sales slumped almost 8 per cent in an EV market that grew 42 per cent in January.
YouGov conducted polls in Germany and Britain in mid-January that found Mr Musk was viewed unfavourably and that his meddling in the countries’ politics was unwelcome.
The Tesla CEO hosted a live discussion with Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alice Weidel on his social media site X on Jan 9 in an attempt to boost the anti-immigration, pro-Russian party that finished second in this week’s election.
During a virtual appearance at an AfD rally later in January, Mr Musk urged Germans to be proud of their culture and discouraged “too much focus on past guilt”.
The comments touched a nerve just before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.
Mr Musk also called for the imprisonment of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January while advocating for the release of jailed far-right activists.
Tesla likely was dealing with shortages of inventory in some markets due to the all-out push the company made to boost sales late in January. Changing over assembly lines for the Model Y also may have had an effect on its January registrations.
Chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja warned during a quarterly earnings call in January that the transition to a new design for the model first introduced in 2020 would cost the manufacturer several weeks of lost production.
The company builds the Model Y at four plants globally, including at its factory outside Berlin.
The competition – led in Europe by Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault – also is under greater regulatory pressure to sell more EVs in 2025. Manufacturers must meet stricter carbon dioxide emissions targets in the European Union in 2025, while a steadily rising share of their sales needs to be zero-emission in Britain through 2035. BLOOMBERG
