Sales of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle Tesla are plummeting across Europe as a result of Musk’s recent ‘nazi salute’ and his continuing endorsement of the far right AfD party in Germany. Tesla vehicles are now being dubbed ‘swastikars’. In Europe, the echoes of jackboot nazism are still within living memory and the era of Hitler and Third Reich still casts a shadow across the continent.
A major drop in sales across the EU
In Norway, Tesla saw a 38% sales slump, in France sales dropped by 63%, and in Spain by 75%. Tesla sales dropped 13% across the whole European Union last year and are expected to fall further. According to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, Tesla registered only 1,277 new cars in Germany in January, a year-on-year drop of 59.5%.
Some shareholders, such as the Dutch civil service pension fund ABP sold its €78mn stake in Tesla. Drugstore chain Rossmann, with 4,700 stores across the EU, replaced Tesla in its electric fleet with other EV’s citing the “incompatibility” of its corporate values and Musk’s ideology.
German energy company LichtBlick cancelled their deal for their fleet of Tesla’s. LichtBlick’s Kevin Lütje, said: “Elon Musk’s support of Donald Trump and his recommendation to vote for a right-wing populist and extremist party is in no way compatible with LichtBlick’s values.”
He stated that “climate protection and electro mobility are extremely important to us, but in the future we will be relying on providers other than Tesla.”
Globally, Tesla is the market leader selling 495,570 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing its total annual sales to 1.79 million. But this will be of concern for investors. This represents a 1.1% decrease from the previous year, marking the first time in over a decade that Tesla’s sales have shrunk.
Musk’s Nazi salute continues to draw flak
Driving a Tesla is now fraught with problems, with many Tesla owners returning to their parked cars sprayed with swastikas. Tesla dealerships and showrooms are being targeted with graffiti.
The UK campaign group ‘Led by Donkeys’ teamed up with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty to beam an image of Elon Musk making the Nazi salute onto Tesla’s gigafactory in Berlin, with the word ‘Heil’ projected next to the Tesla logo.
And a crowdfunded group ‘Everyone Hates Elon’ has been distributing anti-Tesla stickers in London. Some Tesla owners are sporting: “I Bought This Before Elon Went Batshit” bumper stickers. A recent survey by Dutch news outlet EenVandaag surveyed 432 Tesla drivers with 31% either contemplating selling their car or having done so already, and 40% of owners felt embarrassed to drive a Tesla.
EV competitors continue to drive sales
There are other reasons for the fall in sales of Tesla EVs, including the long running union recognition dispute in Sweden with the metalworkers union as well as unattractive models compared to Chinese EVs manufactured by BYD and MG.
Professor David Bailey, a leading expert on the global car market says: “BYD is closing in fast on Tesla’s stranglehold on the EV market. BYD and MG have more new features and are cheaper than Teslas. Both companies have extensive TV advertising in the UK. Public reputation differs globally, but, for Europe, Musk is now ‘damaged goods’.”
