Elon Musk is an inextricable component of Tesla’s truly world-changing successes over the last two decades. But with increased political involvement and ever-growing visibility on the global stage, his actions and words are beginning to ripple unfavorably through markets, especially in the countries that are most staunchly opposed to many of the ideals he seems to embrace.

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Tesla sold half as many cars in Europe through January 2025 compared to the previous year

Earlier this week, Electrek published Tesla's slumping European sales figures. Not a single market recorded any positive growth, with the best outlook being in the United Kingdom, which only saw an 18.2 percent drop year over year. If that doesn’t exactly sound like good news, it’s because the numbers only get worse the longer you look.

The Model Y was once Europe's best selling vehicle.
Tesla

Only 380 new Tesla vehicles joined drivers on Portuguese roads, representing a 31 percent decrease from last year. The Netherlands saw a 42.5 percent decrease, where the automaker was unable to crack 1,000 units sold. Sweden saw a 44 percent decline, where Tesla struggled to sell just over 400 cars.

It gets even worse. France saw a 63.4 percent drop, and the entire country of Spain moved just 269 units, representing a 75.4 percent drop year over year. Then, Reuters gave us German registration numbers, which fell 59.5 percent compared to last year. Later in the week, Tesla made some progress as Ireland reported a significant year-over-year increase, with the EV company selling 143 units there compared to just 66 in January 2024.

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Musk’s stench isn’t the only thing impacting Tesla sales

It’s easy to blame Musk’s politics for the falling sales. Ideologically, he’s at odds with much of Western Europe, so it’s almost inevitable that it has something to do with the drop in popularity. That said, Q1 is historically a low point for the electric automaker. With the exception of 2022, Tesla's Q1 vehicle sales have been lower than in any other quarter since 2018, according to Statista. And in that one year, Q1 was in second to last place.

The New Model Y "Juniper" modernizes the electric SUV's looks.
Tesla

There’s another, more optimistic reason for sales to be low, too. Tesla just launched the Model Y Juniper, which offers heavily updated aesthetics inside and out. A model-year refresh usually impacts current model-year sales, and with tech at the forefront of plenty of Tesla shoppers' minds, it's not unheard of to assume that has something to do with faltering sales.

Those improvements might make some buyers reluctant to purchase what is essentially the "old" model.

Final thoughts

Crying wolf on Tesla’s demise has become positively in vogue, and Musk is potentially the global leader in attracting Schadenfreude. But things are different this time.

Answers will get clearer as we move through Q2 and Q3 of 2025, but January’s sales numbers are likely a dramatic foreshadowing of how the rest of the year will go for Tesla. With Trump tariffs looming and many Americans likely gripping their wallet a little tighter in the coming months, it could be the perfect storm – and excuse – for Tesla’s board to seriously consider a Musk alternative.

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Tesla sales plummet across Europe - is Musk costing Tesla money?

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