Tesla's turnover in Germany fell in February, part of a broader slump in Europe that undermined the company's share price and emphasizes anger about the political activities of Elon Musk, Chief Executive of the company.
The sale of Tesla cars in Germany, Europe's largest market for electric vehicles, dived 76 percent in February compared to a year earlier, the German Association of the Car Industry said Wednesday. The sale of the American car manufacturer in the country has fallen two consecutive months.
The demand for Teslas has also fallen in other European countries since Mr. Musk became a de facto member of the Cabinet of President Trump and the promotion of extreme right -wing parties in Europe and elsewhere on X, the social media platform that he owns, was performed.
The stock price of Tesla fell from its peak in December by more than 40 percent and managed to make all the profit after Mr Trump won the presidency in November, when investors bet that Mr. Musk could use his influence in the White House to benefit his companies.
In Germany, the aggressive promotion of Mr. Musk of an extreme right-wing party prior to the parliamentary elections of last month and his call to citizens to go beyond “a focus on feeling guilt”, customers have alienated.
Mr. Musk and Tesla are increasingly becoming the target of activists and vandals. Activists in London have started a campaign encouraging people to ditch their Teslas and cancel their accounts on X. In Strasbourg, France, an activist group is handing out stickers warning the Tesla chief to “Stay Away from the EU” Over the weekend, Tesla vehicles in a parking lot in southern France were set ablaze, which Prosecutors Said Were “Not at All Accidental.”
The demand for Tesla's cars in France fell more than 26 percent in February compared to a year ago, according to the PFA Automobile Organization.
In Norway, which is at a striking distance from his goal to end the sale of combustion motor cars this year, the sale of Tesla is almost halved in February of a year earlier, according to the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council. It was the second monthly decrease in a row, despite an overall revival of the number of new cars registered in the country. Tesla's share in the total market has so far fallen to 8.8 percent this year, compared to 20 percent in 2023.
“The brand has had a unique market position in Norway for several years,” said Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, the director of the council, in a statement. “Whether this will continue to exist is still to be seen, because there is a lot of unrest and noise around Tesla and Elon Musk.”
Tesla's turnover in February fell by 48 percent in Denmark and 42 percent in Sweden, despite a total revival in the car markets in both countries.
Buyers of electric cars in Great -Britain recorded the trend, with Tesla's turnover of February by 20 percent compared to the same month last year, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Wednesday. Despite the increase, Tesla's turnover was slower than that of other brands for electric cars, and the total market share Krump 3 percentage points to 10.8 percent.
Some of the drop in sales can be explained by customers who are waiting for an updated version of the model Y, who will start to roll out in Europe later this month. But that factor alone probably does not explain such enormous falls, analysts said.
Tesla's misery is not isolated to Europe. In China, Tesla produced almost 50 percent fewer vehicles in February. Mr. Musk's political activities are probably not playing a major role in China, the world's largest car market, but competition from Chinese car manufacturers such as BYD and Xiaomi is intense.
Mr. Musk has said little about marking car sales, and instead claims that the growth of Tesla will depend on the progress in self -driving technology and a planned “cybercab” that could steer, navigate and brakes without human intervention. He told the investors last month that Tesla would offer an autonomous Ride-Hailing service in June in Austin, Texas.
But Tesla is also confronted with serious competition in that emerging company. Waymo, a unit of the same company that owns Google, already offers Taxi service without a director in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, and it is spreading to Atlanta and Miami.
Some investors want to put pressure on Mr. Musk to concentrate more on Tesla, rather his role as director of the so -called Ministry of Government Efficiency. Tulipsshare, a interest group for shareholder, is planning to ask investors during the next annual Tesla meeting to link Mr. Musk's reward to his performance in the field of environmental goals, social responsibility and corporate governance.
“It is time for Tesla's investors to keep the leadership of the company responsible,” said Antoine, the Chief Executive of Tulipsshare, in a statement.
