Another sign that Elon Musk’s company is in dire straits is that Tesla‘s sales in Europe are completely collapsing. In April, the company’s sales in the EU, the UK, and the European Free Trade Association fell by a staggering 49 percent year-on-year, even as overall sales of battery electric vehicles rose.
New data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed that Tesla registered only 7,261 new vehicles in April, almost half the number it did in April 2024. These figures are particularly striking when you consider that Tesla recently released the updated Model Y, a global bestseller that was expected to attract many new customers. Instead, this strategy seems to have failed so far.
Despite Musk’s optimistic statements about the prospects for Model Y sales, Tesla’s brand crisis seems to be deepening. And this is not because European consumers have become disillusioned with electric vehicles: in the first four months of 2025, sales of new electric vehicles increased by 26.4% to 558,262 units, capturing 15.3% of the total EU market share.
Tesla’s deterioration can be attributed to several factors, including growing competition from domestic manufacturers and Chinese rivals, as well as Musk’s efforts to reduce federal spending for the Trump administration through the DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s political intervention in the EU, where he supported Germany’s far-right party ahead of the country’s elections, also seems to have not benefited Tesla.
Musk seems to realize that his political activities are having a negative impact on Tesla. He recently said he would spend less time in Washington and focus more on his company – although he also said he would remain involved in the Trump White House for the rest of the presidential term.
But while Republicans were once thrilled with Musk’s loyalty to Trump, the country as a whole is now tired of his antics. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58% of respondents have a negative view of Musk, compared to 39% who have a positive view. And it seems that Musk’s strategy of closely tying himself to his companies’ brands has backfired. A survey assessing the reputation of leading companies ranked Tesla 95th and SpaceX 86th, up from 8th and 5th place four years ago, respectively.
During last month’s quarterly earnings call, Musk confidently told investors that Tesla’s sales would recover once the issue of closing factories to produce the updated Model Y was resolved. But with the CEO so focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, and self-driving cars, it’s unclear if there’s any immediate solution to Tesla’s worsening problems.
