Tesla’s dismal sales in Germany and the UK are almost a statistical rounding error in sales reports. The Austin, Texas-based automaker’s sales in Germany fell 46% year-on-year in April, and sales in the UK fell 62% year-on-year. At the same time, demand for electric vehicles in Europe continues to grow.
Overall, Tesla sold only 885 vehicles in Germany in April. For Elon Musk’s automaker, it was the fourth consecutive month of declining sales, kicking off a bleak 2025. According to Reuters, Tesla’s cumulative decline so far this year has exceeded 60%. Somehow, its sales in the UK were even worse, with sales falling to just 512 vehicles in the fourth month of 2025. In April 2024, Tesla sold 1,352 vehicles. This caused its market share to drop from 12.5% a year ago to 9.3% today.
The automaker’s website says deliveries of the facelifted Model Y crossover are expected to start sometime in June in both countries, but it will still take a few months of sales data to show whether the facelift is enough to make customers forget the fact that Elon Musk is allied with far-right parties around the world – especially Germany’s AfD party. However, it’s not just Germany and the UK where numbers are falling. Other European countries such as Sweden and France saw numbers fall by 80% and 59%, respectively, according to the New York Times.
Here’s what an analyst told the newspaper: “Europe’s April figures strongly suggest that this is not just a blip in the model switch, and that Tesla’s problems in Europe are deeply rooted and stem from Mr. Musk,” said Matthias Schmidt, an analyst covering the European auto market at Schmidt Automotive Research.
Beyond Musk’s bad politics, the simple fact is that despite the EU’s 27% import tariff, competition – especially from China – is becoming increasingly fierce and popular. BYD’s sales in Germany soared 755% in April. In the UK, where there are no tariffs, BYD’s sales increased 311%.
We’re not sure how Tesla can turn around its dismal sales, and the truth is, it will take more than a minor update to a five-year-old car and a stainless steel behemoth that lets everyone know you don’t care if they live or die.
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