More than $100billion was wiped off the value of Tesla last night after a collapse in sales in Europe. The electric car giant sold just 9,945 vehicles last month – a 45 per cent drop from January last year – according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The decline contrasts with a 37 per cent rise in electric car sales in Europe overall – fuelling speculation that Tesla has been hit by a backlash against boss Elon Musk and his foray into politics. Tesla sold fewer cars in the UK than Chinese rival BYD for the first time ever.
Demand for Musk’s vehicles was down 63 per cent in France and hit the lowest level since July 2021 in Germany. Tesla shares tumbled almost 10 per cent at one stage, wiping more than $100billion (£80billion) off its value and taking its market cap back below $1trillion (£800billion).
Slump: Tesla sold just 9,945 vehicles in Europe last month according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The company has lost more than a third of its value since the shares peaked late last year in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.
Tesla has come under pressure from cheaper rivals such as BYD while it is thought demand has been hit as motorists wait for the upgrade Y model due this year. But the slump in sales also coincides with Musk’s increasing interference in politics and may be a sign European drivers are growing weary of his antics.
In posts on his social media platform X last month, he called for the imprisonment of Prime Minister Keir Starmer along with the release of jailed British Right-wing activists such as Tommy Robinson. As a ‘special government employee’ in the US, Musk, 53, has also teamed up with US President Trump to discredit Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and question polls showing he continues to have support in the country.
And in the lead-up to Germany’s recent general election, he endorsed Alice Weidel’s Right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The fall in Tesla sales in Europe last month follows the first annual decline worldwide in 2024 in a decade as the company battles fast-growing Chinese rivals. Tesla sold 1.79m vehicles last year, down from 1.81m in 2023.
The slump in sales has fuelled fears among investors that Musk has spread himself too thin. On top of running Tesla, he is settling into his new role as the head of Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The South African-born entrepreneur has slashed billions in government contracts with organisations from the Department of Education to USAID, the international development agency.
Musk is also busy captaining his space technology company Space X. Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
