Tesla sales tank in Europe amid ongoing Musk backlash
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Tuesday 25 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - The number of Tesla vehicles sold in Europe tanked in January, even as total volumes of newly registered electric cars surged, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (otherwise known as the ACEA).
Tesla sold just 9,945 units across the EU, EFTA and UK last month, down 45% on the same month last year and considerably below the 44,697 sold in December.
That meant its share of the total car market across Europe fell to just 1.0% for the month, down from 1.8% in January 2024.
At the same time, new registrations of battery-electric cars in Europe grew by 34% year-on-year to 124,341 in January - accounting for 15% of the market, up from 10.9% the year before - while total new car sales fell 2.6%.
While the ACEA didn't offer any comment on the reason for Tesla's retreat, the decline in sales comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding founder and chief executive Elon Musk regarding his political affiliations.
His close ties with Donald Trump and involvement with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency in the US, as well as his connections with far-right parties across Europe, have prompted boycotts of the brand across the continent.
Notably, Musk's alleged Nazi salute at Trump's inauguration - something which he denies - and his backing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has sparked widespread backlash against Tesla, which included activists projecting the word "Heil Tesla" on to one of the carmaker's factories near Berlin last month.
For 2024 as a whole, Tesla sold 327,034 units across Europe in total, down 10.8% on 2023 and accounting to 2.5% of the total car market.
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