Tesla’s sales of electric cars in the European Union fell 50.3% in January compared with the same month last year. (sales of electric cars in the European Union rose 37% over the same period.) , the political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, founder of the Tesla brand, is affecting his empire. Tesla’s shares have fallen for several consecutive days, pushing its market value below the $1 trillion mark, Bloomberg said Wednesday. Agence France-presse, the Guardian and many other media outlets are reporting that some people in the US and Europe are turning away from the Tesla brand, with some Tesla owners saying they no longer drive the car, or put stickers on the car saying, “I bought this car before he went crazy.”. Experts said Musk’s political baggage was dragging down Tesla’s sales, Brand loyalty and investor confidence and that he would have a damaging long-term impact on the brand and business, AFP said, tesla needed to be”Detached” from Elon Musk in its marketing, and a”Perfect storm” was looming. However, other investors believe there is not yet strong evidence that Musk’s political involvement is hurting Tesla’s business. There are other reasons for the Tesla’s decline. The brand remains the best-selling electric car in the American market.
Musk, file photo, source: Visual China
Anti-musk bumper stickers are selling like hot cakes in Germany
Tesla’s EU sales plunged 50.3% in January 2025 compared with the same month last year, according to figures released on February 25 by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) , the Guardian reported, sales in the broader EU + EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) + UK market (Europe) fell 45.2% . Surprisingly, the decline came as sales of electric vehicles across the European market surged 37 per cent year-on-year, suggesting that demand for electric vehicles was not a problem, the commentary said.
According to ACEA, Tesla sold 9,945 new cars in Europe in January, compared with 18,161 a year earlier, and its market share fell from 1.8 per cent to 1 per cent. SAIC sold nearly 17,000 vehicles in Europe in January, up 37% from a year earlier, and its market share rose to 2.3% from 1.7% a year earlier. SAIC sells petrol, hybrid vehicle and electric cars.
On a country-by-country basis, Tesla’s German sales fell 59.5 per cent to 1,277 units, the lowest since July 2021, while French sales fell 63 per cent to 1,143 units, according to Bloomberg calculations, the worst performance in the country since August 2022. The Guardian commented that the figures left analysts scrambling to assess the extent to which clients had deserted the brand because of Elon Musk’s involvement in far-right politics. Musk sparked European discontent in January with a suspected”Nazi salute” at his inauguration in Donald Trump, which he later denied, and with his strong support for far-right German parties.
European car owners who already own Tesla Motors are also”Fighting back”, according to the Guardian. German owner Schneider came up with the idea of putting stickers on Tesla Motors that read”I bought this car before he went crazy” and started selling them online six months ago. He says he now sells 2,000 stickers a day, mainly from the german-speaking world, but also from Australia and South Korea.
The stock fell from $480 to $290
Musk has lost more than $100bn of his net worth since the start of the 2024 in mid-december, Politico reported Tuesday. Shares in Tesla climbed to a high of about $480 after Donald Trump’s election, but have since fallen below $300 to close at $290 on January 26. However, the report also said that for the world’s richest man musk, these are only losses on paper. He owns and runs several other companies, including SpaceX, the social platform X and the artificial intelligence start-up xAI, so Tesla’s recent share price fall is a flesh wound.
Politico argues that Tesla’s stock-price timeline roughly parallels Elon Musk’s rise as”Co-president.”, but quantifying exactly how much damage his political controversies have done to Tesla’s share price and brand is tricky. Tesla’s share price has been hit by a number of factors, with 2024 earnings unusually weaker than expected in its final quarter and vehicle deliveries falling for the first time last year, the report said. In addition, Tesla faces intense competition in the market, particularly from China. “Even before musk took the axe to the federal government and went to war with European leaders, Tesla’s share price bubble had led many to question its valuation.”
But the Tesla remains by far the best-selling electric car on the American market. AFP on the 27th listed the views of many market observers. Some argue that the controversies surrounding his personal conduct will have long-term damaging effects on the brand and the business because of the strong bond between the musk and Tesla brands. Others, however, argue that Musk’s deep involvement in politics does pose a risk, but it is too early to say whether it will have a material impact on the company. A number of people also said in interviews that the political controversy surrounding musk would not affect his purchase of Tesla.
There are other factors
Tesla may be paying the price for his boss’s high-profile political statements, but Tesla’s sales decline is not just due to political factors, according to the French newspaper echo, the obsolescence of its product line is also a key issue. There are only four Tesla models in the region and little has changed in the past four years. Politico also reported that Tesla will introduce a new Model Y this year, so some customers won’t buy older models. Tesla also faces inventory shortages in some markets.
Tesla’s current sales performance is not just a matter of brand image, according to an analysis by Les Numériques, the French digital technology website. In the European market, Chinese car brands are attracting more and more consumers by offering highly competitive prices. Meanwhile, Tesla’s European rivals, such as Reno, VW and Peugeot, are not sitting idle. The brands are taking a range of measures to attract buyers, including more competitive pricing and customer service tailored to local needs. German auto expert Tesla Dudenhoff predicts 2025 will be a tough year for the German automaker, Focus Weekly said Wednesday. Tesla’s growth has been challenged by political controversy, reduced subsidies and competition in the marketplace.