76pc drop: Major nation abandons Tesla

Elon Musk’s troubles have compounded after Tesla hit the skids in one of its most important countries where it has recently invested $13 billion.

Elon Musk’s troubles have compounded after Tesla hit the skids in one of its most important markets.

Sales of the EV giant have plummeted in Germany – Europe’s biggest economy and the world’s third largest – as President Donald Trump’s cost cutting tsar struggles to juggle multiple jobs.

Telsa sales slumped 76 per cent to just 1,429 cars in February, according to statistics from the German Federal Motor Authority, despite electric vehicle sales spiking 31 per cent over the month to 35,949.

Tesla sales are now down 71 per cent in Germany over the first two months of 2025. Next door in France, Europe’s second biggest economy and the world’s seventh largest, sales are down 44 per cent.

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Tesla sales have plummeted in Europe. Picture: AFP

Germany and France are the largest EV markets in the European Union.

Telsa’s troubles in Germany come after Musk controversially threw his support behind anti-Establishment political party AfD in the country’s February 23 elections.

“AfD is the only hope for Germany” Musk had posted on X in the lead-up to the election.

The AfD finished second in the election but Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz has vowed not to work with them.

Musk and Telsa have also been hit by blowback in the US and across Europe due to the tech guru’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump Administration.

In both America and Europe, protests have turned violent.

Telsa’s recent woes in Europe have been mirrored here in Australia, where sales fell 70 per cent in February amid softening EV sales and heightened competition from China.

And over the last four months, Tesla’s share price has fallen 50 per cent, before rebounding slightly in recent days.

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New Tesla electric cars, including the new 2025 Model Y, stand at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. Picture: Getty

Musk hasn’t directly addressed Telsa’s European woes but earlier this month predicted Tesla’s profit could grow 1000 per cent over the next five years.

Other factors have affected Tesla in Europe, such as supply, as the company suspended its production at plants that make its most popular car the Model Y – to rework its assembly lines, according to Fortune.

It will require outstanding execution, but I think more like 1000% gain for Tesla in 5 years is possible https://t.co/s6RjBvFN3G

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2025

The Model Y has undergone a reworking five years after it was first released and sales of the car are unlikely to bounce back quickly, as it will take time for the factory to ramp up production again.

Tesla’s Gigafactory outside Berlin is one of several facilities that will lose production capabilities due to the changeover. The factory was completed in 2022 at a cost of US$8.5bn ($13.31bn)

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Tesla has had to suspend production in Germany. Picture: Getty

Other plants in Germany have had to deal with activist attacks on its infrastructure.

Tesla’s updated Model Y has rolled off the production line in the US and Chinese-made models are expected to land in Australia around May.

Musk has meanwhile committed to ramping up production in the US.

“In support of the policies of President @realDonaldTrump and to demonstrate our confidence in the future of the United States, @Tesla commits to doubling vehicle production in the US within 2 years!” he wrote on X last week.

“Heartfelt thanks to everyone supporting @Tesla, despite many attacks against our stores and offices.”

US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Last week in an interview with Fox Business, Musk looked on the verge of tears when he was asked how he was managing his other businesses including Space X as well as his government role within the Trump Administration.

Originally published as 76pc drop: Major nation abandons Tesla