Tesla’s sales in Germany decreased by 59 percent in January, coinciding with remarks made by CEO Elon Musk, where he criticized Germans for their focus on historical guilt related to Nazi-era crimes and encouraged support for a nationalist party in the upcoming general election.
Amid his efforts to reduce the U.S. budget through an initiative termed the Department of Government Efficiency, Tesla has been losing market share across Europe.
The decline in sales was evident in the three largest European markets for electric vehicles during January.
In Germany, which houses Tesla's only European factory, only 1,277 new Tesla vehicles were registered in January, according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. German consumers have shifted their preference towards domestic and Chinese automakers, which saw a 54 percent increase in demand during the same period.
Tesla’s sales in France fell by 63 percent compared to the previous year, while sales in Britain decreased by 12 percent, following controversial social media comments from Musk that angered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In Sweden, where a mechanics’ strike against Tesla has been ongoing for two years, demand for the company's vehicles dropped by 44 percent last month. Norway also reported a 38 percent decline in Tesla sales.
According to a report from Schmidt Automotive Research, German consumers might be responding to Musk’s recent comments made at a convention for the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, shortly before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. This includes a gesture made by Musk after Trump’s inauguration, which was widely interpreted as a Nazi salute.
Additional factors may also be influencing the sales drop, such as consumers potentially waiting for the updated Model Y, expected to be released by the end of March.
In the United States, the decline in Tesla sales is less pronounced, though still noticeable. In California, the largest market for electric cars in the U.S., Tesla registrations fell by 11.6 percent in 2024, despite an overall increase of 1.2 percent in electric vehicle sales, as reported by the California New Car Dealers Association.