No other automaker has done more to popularize electric vehicles than Tesla. Other brands are gaining ground, particularly Chinese companies, but Tesla’s high-tech vehicles and industry-leading Supercharger network almost singlehandedly transformed EVs from an expensive novelty into a viable transportation solution. Last year, the Austin, Texas-based firm delivered an impressive 1.8 million new vehicles around the world, though drivers may be tiring of the brand.
Sales Under Siege
Tesla’s dominant position in the market is under attack. The automaker’s sales are plummeting in some major European markets, having dropped by huge amounts in France, Germany, and the UK. Year-over-year deliveries in Germany plunged by 59 percent last month; in France, they fell by a staggering 63 percent. The news out of the UK wasn’t quite as bad, but sales were still off by 12 percent. Based on population they’re much smaller countries, but Tesla is under siege in Norway and Sweden as well. Year-over-year, deliveries dropped by 38 and 44 percent, respectively, in the two Scandinavian nations.
On the other side of the world, things aren’t looking good, either. Reportedly, Tesla’s sales in Australia totaled just 739 vehicles last month, a year-over-year decline of 33-percent. It’s unclear what is causing these massive sales declines, but there are some theories. The EVs offered by rival automakers keep improving, and in many ways are better than what Tesla offers. Aside from the newly released – and highly controversial – Cybertruck, Tesla’s model lineup is also quite stale. The Model S sedan, for instance, is in its teenage years and the Model X SUV isn’t far behind.
The closely related Model 3 four-door and Model Y utility vehicles have both been mildly refreshed, but in the grand scheme of things the changes made to these products are quite small. Still, this could be another factor in Tesla’s sagging sales: Customers may have been waiting for updated versions of the Model 3 and Model Y to arrive, so there could be a sales rebound in the coming months, something that actually happened in Australia. Deliveries of the updated Model Y increased by 20 percent, though that still wasn’t enough to offset declines elsewhere.
The Musk Effect
Of course, there’s one other factor to consider: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s provocative behavior. In recent years, the South Africa-born oligarch has been a lightning rod for controversy, though this has been especially true in recent months. Musk has taken a prominent role in the new Trump presidential administration with the unofficial Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and at the inauguration, he waved in a way that many have interpreted as a Nazi salute.
Aside from alleged provocative gestures last month, Musk also spoke at a political event for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party where he told Germans to move on from their guilt of the past, undoubtedly referencing World War II and the Holocaust.
Aside from its older product range and increasing competition, these factors may be discouraging drivers from buying more Teslas, particularly in Germany. Whether the updated Model 3 and Model Y can reverse this trend remains to be seen.
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