Tesla's Europe sales are weak again in July, but bright spots emerge
- - Tesla's Europe sales are weak again in July, but bright spots emerge
Pras SubramanianAugust 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Tesla's (TSLA) sales hangover rolled on in certain key territories in Europe, as the introduction of the revamped Model Y wasn't enough to blunt the effect of rising competition and CEO Elon Musk's deep unpopularity.
However, there were a couple of bright spots in Europe for the beleaguered EV maker.
Registration data, a proxy for sales, was lower for key regions: France (down 27% to 1,307 units), the Netherlands (down 62% to 443), Denmark (down 52% to 336), and Sweden (down 86% to 163). In particular, France and the Nordic countries are major sales territories for Tesla. The sales data comes from national auto sources and was first reported by Reuters.
It was Tesla's seventh straight decline in sales in those territories.
Tesla stock tumbled in early trade on Friday following the news and the broader market sell-off stemming from President Trump's trade wars.
While data from other key regions like Germany and the UK was not available just yet, Tesla did have some bright spots: Spain's registrations jumped 27% to 702 cars sold, and Norway's climbed 83% to 838 EVs.
Those bright spots may not be enough to turn the tide. July's preliminary weakness follows a 33% drop to 110,000 units in the first half of the year in greater Europe, per the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Read more: How to avoid the sticker shock on Tesla car insurance
Musk warned last month that Tesla was in for a "few rough quarters" as the company delayed the launch of its cheaper EVs until the federal EV tax credits expired in the US.
But Musk's warning doesn't mention his own reputational hit stemming from his political activities, the rise of more competition, and US consumer preferences for vehicles like hybrids that have Tesla and the EV industry as a whole worried. For Tesla in particular, weakness in key regions like Europe has been an ongoing issue, and the latest registration data shows US sales sliding as well.
Unpopular: Tesla CEO Elon Musk. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana.) ()
As for Musk, a June study by the Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report found that consumers' favorable view of the Tesla CEO declined sharply — minus 26%. Their positive feelings toward Tesla itself declined 32%. The likelihood of a Tesla purchase in the future? Down 32%.
This comes as Musk denied that his political activities and amplification of far-right voices had any effect on Tesla sales or brand perception.
Aside from the Musk factor, Chinese EV competition in places like Europe is coming back. Europe's tariffs on Chinese EVs temporarily blunted sales, but new data from research firm Dataforce (via Bloomberg) found that in June, Chinese brands like BYD (BYDDY) captured over 10% of EV registrations — the highest share since June 2024 before the EU imposed company-specific tariffs across Chinese EV makers.
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Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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