Early car sales data for January is starting to arrive from countries across the pond, and they paint an alarming picture for Tesla. Sales are crashing in France, Germany, and the UK—all affluent countries that are key markets for Tesla’s electric vehicles. Coming on the heels of a large financial miss, it’s just one more problem for the automaker.
Tesla sales dropped around 13 percent across Europe in 2024, but so far this year, the scale of the problem is far greater. In France, sales of new Teslas fell by 63 percent, while total car sales in the country fell by just 6 percent, with EV sales dropping just half a percent.
Germany was already looking like lost ground for Tesla—its 41 percent drop in 2024 accounted for most of Tesla’s lost sales across Europe. That must make the 59 percent drop in German Tesla sales recorded during January even more painful on the profit and loss statements.
Across the Channel, the British auto industry just released its sales data for January. Here, Tesla sales fell less precipitously—just 12 percent. However, battery EV sales were 35 percent higher in the UK in January 2025 than in January 2024. The cake is growing, but Tesla is getting to eat less and less of it.
In fact, no Tesla cracked the UK’s top 10 best-seller list last month, something that has regularly happened in the past, although that may be due to having just two models for >sale in most markets.
Large declines have also been recorded in Sweden (44 percent), Norway (38 percent), and the Netherlands (42 percent).
I was not aware of this. Further reasons to laugh at Musk are always welcome!
Yeah technically it’s a HGV, and you need an HGV license in order to be able to drive it.
Although apparently the other problem is that it has red indicators, because in the US they don’t have separate lights for brakes and indicators they just flash the brake light.
Anyone driving anything close to a pickup here is a knob. Ford Rangers or Raptors are for men whos wives dress them.
Hilux was acceptable but they are in the same boat now, you all look ridiculous.
The only acceptable vehicle is a range rover, and even then it has to have mud on it.
Pretty much true in the US too - especially a Raptor.
They have there place, but they are in the same boat as vans etc. They are commercial vehicles, to do a job, not city runabouts to stroke egos.
This metal blob goes against so many safety regulations in Europe, it is basically unfixable. And even then you would need a truckers licence to drive it, like the ones for big commercial trucks.