Tesla sales plummet in Europe as brand crisis deepens
Tesla is facing significant challenges in the European market, with the company’s sales in the EU, UK, and European Free Trade Association falling a staggering 49% year-over-year in April. This sharp decline is particularly noteworthy given that overall battery-electric vehicle sales in the region actually increased during the same period.
According to new figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Tesla registered only 7,261 new vehicles in April, nearly half the number recorded in April 2024. This poor performance comes despite the recent launch of the refreshed Model Y, an update to Tesla’s global bestseller that was expected to attract new customers. So far, this strategy appears to have fallen flat.
Despite Elon Musk’s optimistic outlook on Model Y sales, Tesla’s brand crisis seems to be intensifying. The issue isn’t a waning interest in electric vehicles among European consumers; in fact, new battery-electric car sales grew by 26.4% in the first four months of 2025, reaching 558,262 units and capturing 15.3% of the total EU market share.
Several factors are contributing to Tesla’s declining fortunes. These include increased competition from both domestic European manufacturers and Chinese rivals. Furthermore, Elon Musk’s political activities appear to be having an adverse effect. His efforts to cut federal spending for the Trump administration and his public support for Germany’s far-right party ahead of that country’s elections seem to have done Tesla few favours in the EU.
Musk himself seems to be aware of the negative impact of his political engagements. He recently claimed he would reduce his time in Washington to focus more on his companies, though he also stated he would remain involved with the Trump White House until the end of the president’s term.
While Republicans once welcomed Musk’s allegiance to Trump, public sentiment in the U.S. appears to be shifting. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58% of respondents held an unfavourable view of Musk, compared to 39% who viewed him favourably. This suggests that the strategy of closely tying Musk to his companies’ brands may have backfired. A recent survey on company reputations ranked Tesla 95th and SpaceX 86th, a significant drop from their 8th and 5th highest ratings, respectively, just four years ago.
During last month’s quarterly earnings call, Musk expressed confidence that Tesla’s sales would rebound after factory closures for the refreshed Model Y were completed. However, with the CEO’s primary focus seemingly on AI, robotics, and self-driving cars, it remains unclear whether there’s an immediate solution to Tesla’s compounding problems in the market.
