Sales of Tesla’s electric vehicles have fallen sharply around the world prompting claims that Elon Musk’s political support for President Trump and right-wing groups in Britain and Germany sparked a consumer backlash.
Musk’s vocal and financial support for Donald Trump together with his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as the “the country’s only saviour” prompted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to accuse the entrepreneur of ‘hindering democracy”.
The Tesla boss’s behaviour is “extremely damaging”, Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center Automotive Research institute in Germany, told AFP. The furore surrounding his ‘Nazi-style’ salute went down especially badly amongst Germans. “Nobody wants to be associated with it… Tesla and Musk are almost inextricably linked.”
In the UK his attacks on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his support for Tommy Robinson, a controversial far-right figure who is currently in jail have also come in for widespread criticism.
Musk’s political meddling may be behind a slump in Tesla sales worldwide it is speculated. In Germany, the home of its gigafactory production hub, sales are said to be down 41 per cent year-on-year.
UK sales fell nearly 12 per cent in January, even as monthly EV registrations in Europe’s biggest battery-electric market achieved a record, according to latest industry data.
Chinese electric car group BYD overtook Tesla in UK sales for the first time, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed.
Elsewhere in Europe sales in France declined 63 per cent, in Sweden by a drop of 44 per cent, 38 per cent in Norway, and a 42 per cent fall in the Netherlands.
There was a similar story in California, the largest US car market with more than 1.7 million vehicle registrations in 2024, Tesla sales dropped 12 per cent.
Tesla remains the leading EV seller in the US but last year saw it report its first-ever annual decline in deliveries. Musk said afterwards the company planned to launch cheaper EVs in 2025 to improve sales.
In Australia, the number of Tesla Model 3’s finding homes Down Under plummeted to just 739 cars in January, a 33 per cent fall compared to the 1107 deliveries made back in January 2024.
Tesla’s January performance marks the brand’s lowest sales figures since July 2022 when volume was artificially limited by pandemic restrictions which led to just four cars being sold in Australia that month.
Analysts claim it’s too early to link the sales slump to the behaviour of Tesla’s outspoken chief executive. Instead they say falls in Europe are more likely due to the reduction in the number of incentives to buy EV’s.
Lower EV incentives have seen consumers shifting to buy lower-priced hybrid vehicles which they more familiar with and present less range anxiety.
Tesla, together with every other major manufacturer are now facing much tougher competition from China’s leading electric vehicle maker BYD.
After reporting a series of disappointing quarterly sales last year initially offered price cuts and then dangled the promise of cheaper models in the near future rather than the spectacular but expensive cybertruck which has failed to woo customers.
The promise of cheaper models also raises another problem. Musk has form for over promising and not delivering – or rather delivering glacially slowly.
Case in point is Musk’s promises for full-self-driving facilities in Tesla’s. Musk is said to have first promised the smart, safer driving option back in 2016. Last year he said the full hands off ‘self-driving’ mode could be with customers by the end of the year.
The full self-drive cars would compete with ride-hailing services such as Uber and Waymo he said, suggesting the robo-taxis could be a way for Tesla owners to make money when they aren’t using their vehicles, renting them out for rides, with Tesla taking a cut of the cost while the rest of fare went to the vehicle’s owner.
“It’s financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla,” Musk said. “It’ll be like owning a horse in three years.”
Analysts say the truth is a little different from a Musk promise with full-self drive under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board after a series of accidents.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Why Tesla’s sales have plummeted across the world )
Also on site :
- Apparent car explosion rocks Palm Springs, damages fertility clinic
- 215 ‘Kiss, Marry, Kill’ Game Questions That’ll Really Get a Party Going
- Iconic Actress, 75, Turns Heads in Rare Red Carpet Appearance