Elon Musk blamed as things get worse for Tesla
Tesla’s fortunes have gone from bad to worse with company boss Elon Musk again in the crosshairs.
Tesla’s car sales in Europe have crashed by more than 25 per cent year-on-year as Elon Musk continues to take heat from the EV giant’s struggles ON the continent despite recent wins in the US and the Asia-Pacific.
Tesla sales plummeted in Europe by 27.9 per cent in May compared to a year earlier, despite fully electric vehicle sales skyrocketing 27.2 per cent in the region and overall car sales increasing by 1.9 per cent.
According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA), Tesla’s market share has fallen by a third from 1.8 per cent in May 2024 to 1.2 per cent in May 2025.
Tesla’s sales have now fallen for five successive months, with their struggles blamed on an ageing model range, the increasing competitiveness and appeal of Chinese-made EVS and Musk’s involvement IN politics on the other side of The Atlantic.
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Donald Trump’s former right hand man spoke at the launch of Germany’s right-leaning AfD campaign launch in January for the country’s general election, saying the party was “the best hope” for Germany.
According to ACEA data, new Tesla registrations in the EU, the European free trade area and the UK dropped 27.9 per cent to 13,863 vehicles in May, as EV registrations rose 27.2 per cent YOY to 193,493 cars.
According to figures released by JATO Dynamics, Chinese EVs have doubled their European market share to 5.9 per cent in 2025 selling 65,808 units
“Despite the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its car brands continue to post strong growth across Europe,” Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a statement.
“Their momentum is partly due to their decision to push alternative powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids, to the region.”.
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Hybrid vehicles are proving to be the most appealing to European consumers, with those vehicles making up almost 59 per cent of car registrations in May, up from 49 per cent in May last year.
Petrol and diesel vehicles are rapidly shedding market share, with sales of the former slumping 19.5 per cent year-on-year and the later falling 27.6 per cent over the same period
BETTER TIMES AHEAD FOR TESLA?
May’s sales slump for Tesla continued a longer-term decline for the company over 2025.
In February, the first sales figures available after Musk inserted himself into the German election, Tesla’s figures slumped 76 per cent to just 1,429 cars in February, according to statistics from the German Federal Motor Authority.
That was despite electric vehicle sales spiking 31 per cent over the month to 35,949 in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and the world’s third largest. Sales has also hit the wall in neighbouring France.
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However, Musk and Tesla have enjoyed some recent wins with the company’s limited launch of its Robotaxi service in Austin Texas over the weekend being very well received, amid predictions it will disrupt Uber’s global dominance of the transport/ride hailing market when it is rolled out at scale.
In Australia’, Telsa sales have roared back on the introduction of the updated Model Y.
Tesla deliveries jumped 9.4 per cent YOY to 3897 cars in May, in the latest sales figures.
That was on the back of the arrival of the new Model Y, which accounted for 91 per cent of the carmaker’s sales.
It was the first YOY increase in EV sales in Australia for 2025 and came despite a fall in overall vehicle sales.
The Model Y was the fourth most popular car sold in Australia in May behind Toyota’s HiLux, the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Rav 4.
Telsa can reasonably expect a similar sales boost when the new Model Y is finally released in most of Europe later this month
Europeans can order a Model Y in most markets including Germany, the UK, Italy and France with orders starting to be filled this month and as such sales are yet to show up in ACEA data.
If Norway is anything to go by, Musk will have plenty to tweet about.
Tesla has already started selling the new Model Y in the Scandinavian stronghold, where sales have jumped a whopping 213 per cent on the back of the new variant but also increasing popularity of older versions.
Telsa has not released a new model since 2020.
Company shares dropped 2.2 per cent on news of its ongoing European troubles but the it has largely clawed back most of its market losses suffered throughout 2025.
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