Entire continent brutally turns on Tesla
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Tesla's car sales in Europe have crashed by more than 25 per cent year-on-year as Elon Musk continues to take heat from the EV giant's struggles ON the continent despite recent wins in the US and the Asia-Pacific.
Tesla sales plummeted in Europe by 27.9 per cent in May compared to a year earlier, despite fully electric vehicle sales skyrocketing 27.2 per cent in the region and overall car sales increasing by 1.9 per cent.
According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association (ACEA), Tesla's market share has fallen by a third from 1.8 per cent in May 2024 to 1.2 per cent in May 2025.
Tesla's sales have now fallen for five successive months, with their struggles blamed on an ageing model range, the increasing competitiveness and appeal of Chinese-made EVS and Musk's involvement IN politics on the other side of The Atlantic.
MORE: Tesla reveals major Robotaxi move
Tesla sales in Europe are plummeting. Picture: Getty
Donald Trump's former right hand man spoke at the launch of Germany's right-leaning AfD campaign launch in January for the country's general election, saying the party was 'the best hope' for Germany.
According to ACEA data, new Tesla registrations in the EU, the European free trade area and the UK dropped 27.9 per cent to 13,863 vehicles in May, as EV registrations rose 27.2 per cent YOY to 193,493 cars.
According to figures released by JATO Dynamics, Chinese EVs have doubled their European market share to 5.9 per cent in 2025 selling 65,808 units
'Despite the EU's imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its car brands continue to post strong growth across Europe,' Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a statement.
'Their momentum is partly due to their decision to push alternative powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids, to the region.'.
MORE: Aussies 'not ready' for advanced driver tech
Musk's support for Germany's AfD at the recent general election is blamed as one reason for Tesla's struggles. Picture: Getty
Hybrid vehicles are proving to be the most appealing to European consumers, with those vehicles making up almost 59 per cent of car registrations in May, up from 49 per cent in May last year.
Petrol and diesel vehicles are rapidly shedding market share, with sales of the former slumping 19.5 per cent year-on-year and the later falling 27.6 per cent over the same period
BETTER TIMES AHEAD FOR TESLA?
May's sales slump for Tesla continued a longer-term decline for the company over 2025.
In February, the first sales figures available after Musk inserted himself into the German election, Tesla's figures slumped 76 per cent to just 1,429 cars in February, according to statistics from the German Federal Motor Authority.
That was despite electric vehicle sales spiking 31 per cent over the month to 35,949 in Germany, Europe's biggest economy and the world's third largest. Sales has also hit the wall in neighbouring France.
MORE: The end of travel as we know it
Tesla is facing huge competition from Chinese EVs.
However, Musk and Tesla have enjoyed some recent wins with the company's limited launch of its Robotaxi service in Austin Texas over the weekend being very well received, amid predictions it will disrupt Uber's global dominance of the transport/ride hailing market when it is rolled out at scale.
In Australia', Telsa sales have roared back on the introduction of the updated Model Y.
Tesla deliveries jumped 9.4 per cent YOY to 3897 cars in May, in the latest sales figures.
That was on the back of the arrival of the new Model Y, which accounted for 91 per cent of the carmaker's sales.
It was the first YOY increase in EV sales in Australia for 2025 and came despite a fall in overall vehicle sales.
The successful launch of Robotaxis in Texas has given Tesla a huge boost.
The Model Y was the fourth most popular car sold in Australia in May behind Toyota's HiLux, the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Rav 4.
Telsa can reasonably expect a similar sales boost when the new Model Y is finally released in most of Europe later this month
Europeans can order a Model Y in most markets including Germany, the UK, Italy and France with orders starting to be filled this month and as such sales are yet to show up in ACEA data.
If Norway is anything to go by, Musk will have plenty to tweet about.
Tesla has already started selling the new Model Y in the Scandinavian stronghold, where sales have jumped a whopping 213 per cent on the back of the new variant but also increasing popularity of older versions.
The new 2025 Tesla Model Y could revive Tesla's fortunes in Europe as it has in Australia Picture: Mark Bean
Telsa has not released a new model since 2020.
Company shares dropped 2.2 per cent on news of its ongoing European troubles but the it has largely clawed back most of its market losses suffered throughout 2025.
Originally published as Elon Musk blamed as things get worse for Tesla
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As to whether it undermined Australia's sovereignty if the US was not informing the government of what jointly operated military facilities were being used for, he said while sovereignty was "consistent with strong alliances" but that "transparency between the alliance partners" was important. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have refused to answer questions about Pine Gap on the grounds that military intelligence is classified, saying only that the bombing was "a unilateral action" by the US. Mr Albanese has said his government will fund Defence based on what is needed, rather than by setting an arbitrary GDP percentage. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC radio on Thursday: "We make these decisions based on advice to government." "Defence and others come to us. They say what capability they need, what the funding will be, and we provide that funding," Senator Gallagher said. "I have no doubt we'll have more representations over future budget cycles about what Defence needs, but we also need to make sure we've got the capability to deliver." Opposition defence spokesperson Angus Taylor has blamed the Albanese government for the recruitment crisis facing Australia's armed forces, while calling out its refusal to commit to higher Defence spending. Mr Taylor said it was "clear that the government's recruitment program and retention programs are not working at the level they need to, to get the right outcomes." "This is absolutely urgent," he said. "We're thousands short of the government's own goals ... it's one of the issues that is clearly being underfunded by the government." The 2024 Defence Workforce Plan aims to grow the ADF to 69,000 by the early 2030s, but is not on track to achieve this as the number of new recruits is not keeping up with people who leave. Mr Taylor said the solution must include funding better housing and other facilities to support ADF personnel posted in locations in Australia's north. Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday ruled out following in European nations' footsteps after NATO members vowed to dramatically lift expenditure following pressure from United States President Donald Trump. "We've gone through our own process of assessing our strategic landscape, assessing the threats that exist there, and the kind of defence force we need to build ... and then to resource that," Mr Marles said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands. "What that has seen is the biggest peacetime increase in Australian Defence spending." NATO countries, of which Australia is not a member, agreed to increase defence spending targets to 5 per cent of GDP. 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"I have no doubt we'll have more representations over future budget cycles about what Defence needs, but we also need to make sure we've got the capability to deliver."
