- Tuesday, May 06, 2025
He flagship brand Tesla is going through an unprecedented period of turbulence with a steep fall in sales in the US and Europe
By: India Weekly
FOR tech titan Elon Musk, heading the Donald Trump administration’s efficiency agency DOGE has taken a toll on his erstwhile business ventures.
The billionaire’s flagship brand, Tesla, is going through an unprecedented period of turbulence with a steep fall in sales of the iconic electric car in the US and Europe.
This comes at a time when electric mobility is on the rise, as countries improve their charging infrastructure and cars become more affordable.
Tesla’s new car sales in Britain and Germany plummeted to their lowest in over two years in April, falling 62 per cent and 46 per cent year-on-year respectively, even as demand for electric vehicles rose in both countries, national data showed on Tuesday (6).
Sales of Tesla also plunged to multi-year lows in some other key European markets last month, national data showed last week, as Tesla prepares to counter competition from European and Chinese EV brands with the launch of a revamped Model Y.
The brand’s sales in Germany dropped to 885 cars in April, a fourth month of declines this year, amounting to a cumulative year-to-date drop of over 60 per cent, data from the road traffic agency KBA showed.
That was almost half as many as BYD, a Chinese competitor, managed: 1,556 BYDs were registered in April, a rise of 756 per cent on the year.
At the same time, overall EV registrations in Germany rose 53.5 per cent year-on-year and now account for almost 19 per cent of the market, the highest share since the government removed a subsidy for electric vehicles in December 2023.
In Britain, Tesla sold 512 new cars last month, down from 1,352 in April 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This led to a year-to-date EV market share of 9.3 per cent for Tesla in the UK, data from research group New AutoMotive showed.
That’s down from 12.5 per cent a year ago, according to the research group’s data.
However, Volkswagen’s battery-electric sales in the UK jumped 194 per cent to 2,314 vehicles last month, while registrations of China’s BYD were up 311 per cent to 1,419 cars, the research group said.
Tesla’s websites in Germany and Britain say that estimated deliveries of the revamped Model Y will start in June, but it will take a couple of months before sales data shows if the updated version has won back customers.
Political fallout
Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide due to a combination of fierce Chinese competition as well as anger at Musk’s outspoken political positions.
Musk’s closeness to Trump, his politics and efforts to eliminate waste at US governmental agencies have spurred protests against him and the company, as well as vandalism at its showrooms and charging stations across the US and Europe.
In Germany, he has faced hostility for backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) before February’s general election by appearing via video link at a rally and broadcasting a conversation with its co-leader, Alice Weidel, on his X platform.
Other political parties in Germany shun the AfD and Germany’s domestic intelligence agency last week classified it as a right-wing extremist organization.
Some German Tesla drivers have put “I bought this before Elon went crazy” stickers on their vehicles and the backlash has also taken more forceful forms.
Tesla cars have been targeted in suspected arson attacks in Berlin and Dresden, and protesters have staged demonstrations against the carmaker.
On May 1, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting sources, that Tesla had begun searching for a successor to Elon Musk.
The article claimed that Tesla board is tired of the time Musk devotes to DOGE.
However, Tesla chairman Robyn Denholm has denied that the carmaker’s board was looking to replace Musk as CEO.
DOGE tenure
Meanwhile Musk has also pledged to cut back his role in Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was formed to reduce US government spending and cutting jobs.
The agency has faced legal challenges over the scope of its work, and Musk and his team have been criticized for a lack of transparency.
Doge is an advisory body created by an executive order signed by Trump.
Musk said his “time allocation to Doge” would “drop significantly” from May to one to two days per week, after accusations he had taken his focus off Tesla.
Trump had designated Musk as a “special government employee,” allowing him to work a paid or unpaid government job for 130 days each year.
He is due to reach his 130-day limit on government work in late May, but it is not clear whether he will step down completely.
