Tesla’s Sales Have Been Hit Around the World
Tesla sales have been faltering worldwide as consumers push back against the company’s CEO Elon Musk and his political involvement with the Trump Administration.
The company’s stock dropped 15% as of end of day on Monday, its steepest drop in five years, as the stock market plunged after President Donald Trump hinted at a recession on Sunday. And the president seems to have taken notice of Tesla’s dip—in a post on Truth Social Monday night, he blamed “radical left lunatics” for the boycott of Musk’s EV company and pledged to “buy a brand new Tesla.”
The automaker could use the boost. Recent data shows that the brand’s sales have seen major drops in markets around the world. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Tesla sold just under 7,517 vehicles in Europe in January, half of what it sold in January the year prior. That’s despite sales of battery and hybrid electric vehicles of any brand rising in January as the E.U. continues to tighten regulations on emissions from new vehicles.
Looking at Germany, the largest market for EVs in the E.U., the country saw a 30% year-over-year rise in electric vehicle sales in February, but Tesla sales were down more than 70% compared to last year—less than 1,500 new Teslas were registered in the country in February.
Other European countries also saw sales fall. Between January and February of 2025, Tesla recorded a 50% drop in sales in Portugal and 45% in France according to Reuters, while sales fell 42% in Sweden and 48% in Norway.
Sales are falling outside of Europe as well. In Australia, data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows that Tesla sales dropped over 70% compared to last year— recording just 1,592 sales in February compared to 5,665 in February 2024, the Guardian reports.
Meanwhile, Tesla shipments from China dropped 49% in February, as the automaker shipped out 30,688 vehicles—the lowest monthly figure since July 2022, according to Bloomberg. Tesla has faced growing competition from domestic EV makers in the country—Chinese automaker BYD sold more than 318,000 electric and hybrid cars last month, a 161% increase from last year.
In California—the biggest domestic market for EVs thanks to its state mandate that 35% of new 2026 car models sold by automakers must be zero emissions—Tesla sales slumped for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to the latest data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA).
Not every market, however, has been hit. Britain saw a record number of EV sales in 2024, and Tesla sales were up 20% in February.
Musk has not commented on the sales dip, but when asked by Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow how he was running his other businesses, the billionaire said, “With great difficulty.”
