Tesla followed up its worst sales month in years in France with another weak showing in Feb, prolonging its early-year slump in one of Europe’s biggest markets for electric vehicles. Its sales across Europe fell 45%, in stark contrast with the 37% jump in overall EV registrations.
Tesla registered 2,395 cars last month in France, down 26% from a year ago. Tesla’s decline compares with a 0.7% drop in total industry sales. Tesla is off to a slow start to the year in part due to the changeover of its most popular vehicle, the Model Y, to a new design. It requires a weeks-long pause in output to update production lines, which likely is costing the company sales.
Investors are concerned that Tesla is bearing the brunt of retaliation against Musk, who’s increasingly asserting himself in global politics as one of Trump’s top advisers. Consumers have protested the Tesla CEO at dozens of Tesla stores and several showrooms have been vandalised in recent weeks. Registrations plunged 63% to 1,141 cars in Jan, its lowest total in France since Aug 2022, and also declined in key markets including the UK and Germany.