Latest data reveals a sharp decline in Tesla's sales across the European market. In January, Tesla registered only 1,141 new cars in France, the EU's second-largest electric vehicle market, marking a staggering 63% year-over-year drop. Tesla also experienced significant sales declines in Sweden and Norway, with registrations plummeting 44% to 405 vehicles in Sweden and 38% to 689 vehicles in Norway compared to the previous year.
Some media outlets have linked Tesla's declining sales to CEO Elon Musk's growing unpopularity in Europe. Over the past few months, Musk has been openly interfering in European politics, using his social media platform to attack European leaders.
Notably, Tesla's sales in California, the largest EV market in the U.S., have also been on a downward trend. According to Bloomberg, Tesla's vehicle registrations in California declined throughout all four quarters of 2024, with Model 3 sales plunging 36% for the year. Analysts suggest that Musk's active involvement in U.S. politics, particularly in the presidential election, may have contributed to Tesla's poor performance in California.
According to data from the French industry association La Plateforme Automobile, Tesla's 1,141 new car registrations in France for January marked its lowest level since August 2022. The company's performance significantly lagged behind the overall market, as the French automotive market saw a 6.2% year-over-year decline, while electric vehicle sales dipped only 0.5%.
Monday's automotive registration data also showed Tesla's shrinking market share in Sweden and Norway. The American EV maker's public image has suffered following Musk's controversial remarks on European affairs. In January, Sweden registered 405 new Tesla vehicles, a 44% decline from the previous year, while Norway's registrations fell 38% to 689 units. By contrast, Sweden's overall car market grew 14% in January, and Norway's market surged 82% due to increased economic optimism.
Despite the Model Y being the best-selling car in Sweden and Norway in 2024, a market sentiment survey by Sweden's Novus Group found Tesla's brand image had taken a hit in recent weeks, with growing negative consumer feedback. This backlash is partly attributed to Musk's political views, which have sparked controversy across Europe.
Beyond his vocal support for former U.S. President Donald Trump, Musk has also made controversial political statements about Europe and other regions, drawing criticism from European governments, including Norway's prime minister. After Trump's election victory, a Novus survey found that only 11% of Swedes viewed Tesla positively.
Furthermore, Tesla's sales dropped 18% in the UK, 31% in Portugal, around 40% in Denmark and the Netherlands, and a staggering 75% in Spain in January.
Some media reports have linked Tesla's sales decline to Musk's growing unpopularity, as he has repeatedly meddled in European politics, using his platform to attack leaders, including the UK prime minister and Irish regulators. He has also supported Germany's far-right party AfD and maintained close ties with Italy's right-wing prime minister. Musk has even attempted to launch a European equivalent of the "Make Europe Great Again" (MEGA) campaign.
In several European countries, Musk's favorability appears low. A recent YouGov poll found that most citizens in Germany and the UK believe Musk knows little about their countries and should stay out of their politics. Additionally, Tesla has recently been embroiled in a high-profile labor dispute with Scandinavian unions, tarnishing its reputation among organized labor in Europe.
Even before the latest data release, Tesla's sales in Europe were already declining. In 2024, the company's EV sales in the EU dropped 13%. In Germany, Tesla's sales plunged 41% last year, outpacing the country's overall EV market decline of 27%. Factors such as an aging vehicle lineup, intensified competition, and the discontinuation of government subsidies at the end of 2023 have posed significant challenges for Tesla in Germany.
California, the largest EV market in the U.S., has also seen declining Tesla sales. Recent data shows that Tesla's new car registrations in California fell throughout all four quarters of last year, with Model 3 sales plummeting 36% for the year.
According to the California New Car Dealers Association, Tesla's sales in the state declined nearly 8% in Q4 2023 and 12% for the full year. Model 3 registrations dropped by over a third.
Despite adding the polarizing Cybertruck to its lineup last year, Tesla still saw declining registrations. While commercial factors, such as the Model 3 refresh, played a role, Musk's active involvement in the U.S. presidential election may have also contributed to Tesla's loss of business in California.
Reports indicate that Musk, 53, spent at least $288 million supporting Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, in California, voters supporting Democratic candidate Kamala Harris outnumbered Trump's supporters by 20.2 percentage points.
Even so, Tesla still holds the largest share of California's zero-emission vehicle market, though its share fell from 60.1% in 2023 to 52.5% in 2024. Tesla's U.S. sales declined across multiple models last year, with Cybertruck being the only exception, having launched at the end of 2023.
In California's EV market, Honda and Hyundai emerged as the biggest winners, increasing their market shares by 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively. The California New Car Dealers Association commented, "The outlook for Tesla in California is not promising. Tesla's dominance in the EV market continues to wane, with the brand seeing five consecutive quarters of declining registrations."
Musk relocated Tesla's headquarters from California to Texas in 2021 after repeatedly clashing with California authorities over COVID-19 lockdown measures. However, one of Tesla's two U.S. EV assembly plants remains in Fremont, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In July 2023, Musk also announced that his social media company X and aerospace firm SpaceX would move from California to Texas, citing a new California law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The law prohibits schools from requiring teachers to notify parents about students' gender identity changes, a policy that Musk strongly opposed.
After Trump's election victory, Newsom threatened to exclude Tesla from a list of automakers eligible for potential EV subsidies. Analysts suggest that if Trump follows through on his campaign promise to eliminate federal EV tax credits, Tesla's sales could take an even bigger hit.
