 "Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20. The billionaire has been receiving flak for the gesture that many have compared with the Nazi salute.")
Tesla is in trouble.
According to reports, sales of the Electric Vehicle company’s cars are sinking across Europe.
Some say Tesla CEO’s Elon Musk’s politics may be to blame.
But what do we know? Is Musk’s politics really hurting the sale of Tesla EVs?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
As per Business Insider, Tesla’s EV sales in the EU dropped 13 per cent in 2024.
The outlet quoted analysis from pricing firm Argus Media as saying the decline was most precipitous in Germany, France, and Italy.
In France, Tesla’s sales in January declined an incredible 63 per cent.
In Germany, that number was at a scarcely believable 59 per cent.
According to Bloomberg, Tesla sold just 1,277 new EVs in Germany in January 2025.
That’s the lowest since July 2021, according to data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority.
In 2024, Tesla’s sales in Germany flagged by 41 per cent.
Germany is also the centre of the European auto industry and home to Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory.
According to Mint, what makes things worse for Tesla is that it is losing ground far faster than other EV companies – particularly in Germany.
The battery market in Germany increased 54 per cent over the past month
As per Financial Times, Tesla’s market share in Germany is down to four per cent from 14 per cent.
As per The Independent, Tesla saw its sales slide 44 per cent in Sweden.
Tesla witnessed a 38 per cent drop in sales in Norway.
Tesla also dropped 12 per cent in the UK , as per Livemint.
“The big picture is a shrinking EV market across Europe. But Tesla is shrinking faster than that, and in specific markets, it is outpacing that decline,” Dylan Khoo, an analyst at Argus, told Business Insider.
Is Musk’s politics really hurting Tesla in Europe?
Polls show Musk is widely unpopular in both UK and Germany.
According to a YouGuv poll, 71 per cent of respondents in both countries shared a negative opinion of Musk.
The Tesla CEO’s popularity rating was 19 per cent in Germany and 18 per cent in UK.
In Germany, 73 per cent of respondents called Musk’s attempt to influence elections unacceptable.
That figure was at 69 per cent in the UK.
A late January survey conducted by EV review website Electrifying.com showed that 59 per cent of British owners of EVs, and those intending to buy such a vehicle, said Musk’s influence would deter them from buying a Tesla.
The share of Swedes with a positive view of Tesla fell to 11 per cent in a Novus survey conducted after Trump’s inauguration, down from 19 per cent in a similar poll conducted January 15 to 17, according to Swedish news agency TT.
Those with a negative view jumped to 63 per cent from 47 per cent, TT reported.
Some experts think Musk ’s views are hurting the Tesla brand.
“Musk’s influence on the brand is becoming increasingly polarising, pushing many buyers to look elsewhere,” said Electrifying.com CEO Ginny Buckley. “With over 130 mainstream EV models now available in the UK - compared to just 25 in 2020 - competition has never been fiercer and Tesla is already feeling the pressure.”
A piece in Elektrek.Co called Tesla’s sales figures in Europe figures “pretty nuts.”
“Obviously, Tesla will use the Model Y transition as an excuse, and there’s some truth to it. However, Tesla was transitioning the Model 3 around the same time last year, which also negatively affected 2024 sales,” the piece noted.
Musk , a huge supporter of President Trump, spent over $200 million to get him elected.
Musk has also caused huge controversy – particularly in Britain and Germany – after coming out in favour of Reform and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Musk hosted an interview with AfD leader Alice Weidel on his social media platform X.
He has also made disturbing comments about Germans culture and heritage and warned against the country focusing far too much on past guilt with regard to the Holocaust.
“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.”
“There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that,” Musk said.
“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents.”
The remarks, which came ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, were widely condemned in Germany.
The Tesla CEO’s behavior is “extremely damaging,” Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the Center Automotive Research Institute in Germany, told the AFP news agency.
“Nobody wants to be associated with it… Tesla and Musk are almost inextricably linked.”
Musk also drew criticism after making a gesture he made at US President Donald Trump’s inauguration resembled a Nazi salute.
The New York Times quoted Schmidt Automotive Research as writing in a report that German buyers “may well be reacting to Musk’s comments” about guilt about the Holocaust and the alleged Nazi salute he gave at Trump’s inauguration.
But others lay the blame squarely on the company itself.
The chief executive of research group New AutoMotive, Ben Nelmes, said that Tesla’s problems stem less from Musk’s actions and more from its failure to launch a new mainstream model since the Model Y in 2020, while rivals, including Chinese EV makers, have fresher products on the market.
“It’s not due to Musk’s views or British motorists’ views about Musk - they stopped innovating after the Model Y,” he said of Tesla.
With inputs from agencies