Tesla’s sales in Europe are tumbling despite a broader rebound in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) across the Continent as Elon Musk gets a fresh headache as he refocuses his attention on his struggling car company.
Just 36,167 Teslas were sold in the EU during the first quarter of 2025, down 37pc compared to a year earlier, according to industry figures.
It came as overall EV sales in the bloc accelerated, rising by 24pc to 412,997, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said.
The drop is a fresh headache for Elon Musk as he refocuses his attention on Tesla to battle a wider sales slump at the company.
Read also: Elon Musk under fire as Tesla sales plunge to 13-year low
Critics have accused the billionaire of endangering the electric car maker’s brand with his vocal support for Donald Trump and the US president’s department of government efficiency (Doge), which he helped to set up on a voluntary basis.
The political interventions have enraged some of Tesla’s liberal-leaning customers, sparking campaigns to boycott its vehicles and even arson attacks by extreme protesters.
At the same time, Wall Street analysts have warned that Mr Musk needs to show improvement urgently at Tesla amid concerns the company’s current car line-up looks tired.
This week the tycoon assured investors he was now set to spend “far more” time on his company – but there was no update on when a newer, lower-priced model could be expected.
Improving EV sales in Europe contrasted with a bleaker market for cars in the EU, with combined sales of all car types down by 2pc between January and March.
While sales of EVs and hybrids were up 24pc and 21pc respectively, sales of petrol cars and diesel cars fell by 21pc and 27pc.
Electric cars’ recovery compared to growth of just 3pc the previous year, and included strong sales in top markets such as Spain, Germany, Italy and Austria.
But one outlier was France, where sales fell 6.6pc after EV subsidies were scaled back late last year.
However, the ACEA warned that EVs’ market share, at 15pc, was still “far from where it was expected to be” as the EU prepares to introduce new vehicle emission curbs.
Hybrids remained the most popular type of car, taking a 35pc market share, with petrol cars second at 29pc.
Global credit ratings agency S&P previously downgraded its forecast for EU electric car sales in the first half of 2025 from 27pc of the market to 21pc, blaming “shifting economic conditions”.
