Tesla in free fall: sales collapse in Europe, a historic dive of 45 %

Sales of Tesla dived in Europe in January, marking a drop of 45 % compared to the previous year. The American brand, which had sold 18,161 vehicles on the old continent in January 2024, registered only 9,945 cars last month, according to data from the Association of European Automobiles (ACEA). Its weight on the market increased from 1.8 % to 1 % in one year.

The Musk effect: Tesla unscrews in Europe on the background of political controversies

This spectacular withdrawal comes while Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, multiplies controversial political positions. The South African entrepreneur has established himself as a support displayed from the German far right, declaring in January that the alternative for Germany (AFD) was ” The best hope for the future In Germany. He even congratulated Alice Weidel, co-leader of the party, for his progression in the last elections.

His forays into British and French politics have not been less noticed. Musk publicly accused Keir Starmer, head of the Labor Party, of having covered a scandal of Grooming gangs – Understand “sexual exploitation networks of minors” -, without supporting his words. In France, Emmanuel Macron reacted with other European leaders to the controversial declarations of the billionaire, who seems to want to weigh on public debates.

In this context, the drop in sales of Tesla questions. The company recorded only 1,277 sales in Germany, its worst score since July 2021. In France, the fall reaches 63 %a historically low level since August 2022. Even in the United Kingdom, Tesla was preceded for the first time by its Chinese competitor byd.

This disappointment intervenes paradoxically while the European electric vehicle market is growing (+34 % in January, with 124,341 registrations). Some markets even record two-digit increases, like Germany (+53.5 %), Belgium (+37.2 %) and the Netherlands (+28.2 %).