Tesla’s sales in Germany sank in February, part of a wider fall throughout Europe, which underlined the company’s share price and underlined the anger in the political activities of Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive.
Tesla car sales in Germany, the largest market for Europe’s electric vehicles, Dove 76 % in February compared to the previous year, the German car union of the car said on Wednesday. US car sales in the country have fallen two months in a row.
Demand for Teslas has also declined in other European countries, as Mr Musk became a de facto member of President Trump’s cabinet and raised the promotion of far -right parties in Europe and elsewhere in X, the social media platform.
The price of Tesla’s stock decreased more than 40 percent from its top in December and extinguished all the profits made after Mr Trump won the presidency in November, when investors bet that Mr Musk could use his influence on the White House.
In Germany, Mr Musk’s aggressive promotion of a far -right party before last month’s parliamentary elections and his call for citizens to go beyond the “focus on the previous guilt” may have alienated customers.
Mr Musk and Tesla are increasingly targeted by activists and vandals. London activists have launched a campaign that encourages people to cut off their Teslas and cancel their accounts in X. in Strasbourg, France, a group of activists issues stickers warning the Tesla chief to “stay away from EU” France was Flane, which prosecutors said that “it is not accidental”.
Demand for Tesla cars in France decreased more than 26 % in February compared to a year ago, according to Automobile PFA.
In Norway, which is impressive from its goal of ending combustion car sales this year, Tesla’s sales almost half in February since the previous year, according to the Norwegian traffic council for traffic. It was the second monthly decline in the series, despite the total recovery of the number of new cars registered in the country. Tesla’s share in the total market decreased to 8.8 % so far this year, from 20 % in 2023.
“The brand had a unique market in Norway for several years,” Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, director of the Council, said in a statement. “Either this will continue to see, as there is a lot of turmoil and noise that surrounds Tesla and Elon Musk.”
February sales of Tesla declined by 48 % in Denmark and 42 % in Sweden, despite the total recovery in car markets in both countries.
Electric car buyers in Britain dug the trend, with Tesla’s February sales rising by 20 % compared to the same month last year, the manufacturers and traders said. Despite the rise, Tesla’s sales were slower than those of other electric car brands and its total market share reduced 3 percentage points to 10.8 %.
Some of the sales reductions can be explained by customers awaiting an update of the Y model, which begins to release in Europe later this month. But this factor is not only likely to explain such huge reductions, analysts said.
Tesla’s suffering is not isolated in Europe. In China, Tesla produced nearly 50 percent fewer vehicles in February. Mr Musk’s political activities probably do not play an important role in China, the largest car market in the world, but the competition from Chinese automakers such as BYD and Xiaomi are intense.
Mr Musk has not said a few words about highlighting car sales, arguing instead that the development of Tesla will depend on the progress of self-guiding technology and a scheduled “cybercab” that could direct, navigate and brake without human intervention. He told investors last month that Tesla would start offering a stand -alone ride service to Austin, Texas, June.
But Tesla is also facing serious competition in that budding business. Waymo, a unit of the same company that owns Google, already offers a taxi -free taxi service to Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco and expands to Atlanta and Miami.
Some investors want to push Mr Musk to focus more on Tesla, rather his role as director of the so -called Department of Government Effectiveness. Tulipshare, a shareholder defense team, plans to ask investors at Tesla’s next annual meeting to link Mr Musk’s pay to his performance for environmental goals, social responsibility and corporate governance.
“It is time for Tesla investors to keep the company’s leadership responsible,” Antoine Argouges, Tulipshare’s chief executive, said in a statement.
