Tesla sales plunge 63% in EU’s second-biggest EV market
Tesla sales plunge 63% in EU’s second-biggest EV market
Tesla Inc. registrations plummeted 63% last month in France, the European Union’s second-biggest market for battery-electric vehicles.
Summary
Tesla’s registrations in France dropped 63% in January, their lowest since August 2022, far outpacing the broader total EV sales' 0.5% decline.
Tesla registrations across EU countries fell 13% last year, with Germany accounting for much of the decline.
Sales in Germany, Tesla’s biggest European market, also fell 41% last year due to an aging lineup, competition, and subsidy cuts.
CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement, including support for Germany’s far-right party, may be affecting demand.
The interesting part of the story is not so much that Tesla is losing -- it's who is winning. Electric vehicles are in MASSIVE demand throughout the world. The USA has responded more or less by putting an iron curtain in place against BETTER electric vehicles produced elsewhere. Sure, our governments use some scary words around Chinese imports, but look at their cars in isolation, especially BYD. By almost any metric you can imagine, BYD products are superior. The USA is temporarily putting their head in the sand about China. However, make no mistake, in other markets where there is FAIR competition, America's lunch is getting eaten. This cannot go on forever. Hopefully our US auto producers get their heads out of their ass and start competing instead of relying on tariffs to level the playing field. Tarriffs can make Tesla competitive domestically, but if you want to dominate the world, this is almost certainly not the way forward.
And they haven't even slapped a bunch of tit-for-tat tariffs on them yet.
Good keep it going!
Well, I think I'm pulling the plug too finally and offloading my Tesla to some poor shmuck. Just too many things.
I hope some dealership will give me money for it.
The EU has so many much better EV makers it is crazy. Siemens, Altsom, CAF or Talgo are superior in every way.
Give me a break.
Hate on Musk all you're pleased, I'll join you. But I can't deny how much better tesla was vs every other brand I've test driven (Ford, Kia, Polestar mg etc). Their software is unmatched unfortunately. Until we get another brand do this shit right, tesla will be the top car. EV is only as good as its software. Most other brands are half a decade behind.
Again, if you have experience and disagree? I'm happy to discuss! I'd love to hear about your experience with brands I haven't tested. But 90% of comments here likely never driven Tesla and are just spewing bullshit because they dislike Musk. It's fine not to buy a car because of it, but trying to mental gymnastics into the car being bad makes people look like complete idiots.
I'm sure there will be smart asses here talking about quality control or software recalls, so what? Sell so many of anything and you'll have bad apples. You think other brands haven't got those?
EV is only as good as its software.
Well.... as a current Tesla owner and previous owner of 5 different cars (one of em french!) I have to say that this car has had the worst hardware I've ever experienced. And it sure brings down the experience a tad when -- let's say -- your side door window physically cracks because it failed to raise the window by half a centimeter, so it crashes into the car side when you try to close it. Or when the hinge in the boot just breaks randomly and the remote fix-r-up guy cannot do anything about it. Or when the side mirror just stops working because it's chilly outside.
But sure, the software is pretty ok. And some things remain pretty nice, like the acceleration.
That’s really a matter of opinion. I love CarPlay and prefer it to Tesla’s screen. The voice recognition is just not as good and fails most of the time when I ask it to dial or send a text message. It lacks WhatsApp integration, and my favorite podcast app just doesn’t work with Tesla’s system and never will.
Hyundai feels more comfortable both in seats and interface; I prefer actual buttons rather than trying to scroll through menus at high speed to turn on and off car features. Non-round steering wheels and lack of turn stalks should be banned for safety. I feel safer glancing at a speedometer in front of me rather than glancing away from the road so often. And Hyundai Ioniq cars have much better self driving on highway compared to what Tesla has, as Tesla keeps nearly clipping trucks or going out of lanes forcing me to take over far too often. I even like the auto park features.
But this really is a matter of opinion and preference.
Tesla cars are a mixed bag (for Europeans, at least).
The software is good (although it got worse, many things now require multiple touches, which is really bad when driving), and it is better than every other brand I know.
But a lot of other aspects are suboptimal. E.g. the insulation is sub-par, resulting in more noise. The assistance systems are really bad, the car tried to kill me multiple times on the Autobahn. The cameras are bad when it's dark outside, often I have to guess what I see in the rear camera when parking. The placement of the rear camera leads to dirt on it, I have to clean it every day to be able to use it. Etc, pp.
Nothing is so bad that I would advise against a Tesla, but these are many small paper cuts I was not used to in other brands.
That said: don't buy a Tesla. Musk is a Nazi. Don't support Nazis, punch them.
Edit: didn't notice the train joke. Nice, you got me ;-)
I never owned a tesla, i only know people who own and have owned teslas and it's a mixed bag. It's really not as simple as "car very good" and "car very bad" the biggest problem with the early gen tesla (imo) is that they aren't really thought out in many many places. My mechanic friend bought an early gen tesla for cheap and we started to pull it apart because it made odd noises. I have never seen such a weird ass car. They just glued in neoprene (or whatever that is) and other parts into the body panel for some reason. Well one reason is that the car collects dirt in the panels. And i mean i pulled out buckets of dirt from that car. The interior is incredible cheap lookjng and feeling. A lot of things in that car was just bizzar. It was like a show car, that wasn't ment to drive because everything seemed so flimsy so they just added stuff to make it not fall apart.
A guy i know ordered a then new tesla (around 2021) he was supposed to get the car in august that year, they delivered it around christmas. He's a real fanboy and he was so excited for that car. When they delivered it, the car was absolutely shit. Panel misalignment is normal with these cars, but this was crazy, and not just panels, also interior and the car rattled and what not. He didn't accept it and the delivery guy told him the car just goes to the next guy on the list until someone accepts it. So he got another car in march or so. His windshield broke a bit later and it took them 8 month to get a new one, and because they don't have a real garage, he delivered it and they took it somewhere. It was gone for a long time and they didn't just change the windows, they also changed out the drivetrain and didn't say anything. This part is speculative to be honest, but it usually doesn't take more than a month to change the windscreen and when we put the car on a lift, the frivetrain was suspiciously clean compared to the rest of the car. They denied everything tho. These are my first hand experiences, and reading the problems other tesla owners have, it's pretty clear that quality, quality control and customer service is like dead last on the list.
I have a Tesla (it's 4 years old, dont kill me. I wouldnt buy one now. I would unbuy it if I could. Fuck Elon, fuck Tesla) and my boyfriend has a new Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Ioniq is a really cool car, no problems yet with it so far, but the Tesla absolutely demolishes it from a software/end user standpoint.
It is definitely the best non-Tesla EV I've played with so far, though, but I am so glad he decided on it over a 2nd Tesla. I dont think I could look at him anymore if he bought one at this point...
Oh I am not saying that Tesla is not making good cars, but that cars are inferior to trains. Those companies mostly had full self driving before Tesla was founded. They also all build high speed rail, which means they are faster then Tesla. Trains also use less energy then cars. The onboard entertainment mainly is bring your own device and use the WiFi, but options for restaurants are decently common.
Sadly, he's already tapped the US Treasury like a Keg.
Any day now, Elon Musk’s failures will catch up with him and then we can dance on his grave of failure.
Stupid nerd who never accomplished anything!
The people who buy electric vehicles are left-leaning people who believe in climate change. If I were a major Tesla shareholder I'd be howling to have Musk ejected while the company still has a chance to retain some goodwill.
Why? Shareholders do not care about the health of the company so long as its stock price is high. And Teslas stock price is not based on any fundamental principle of investing.
Their market cap, or the total value of all their shares, is currently worth more than the next 30 largest auto manufacturers COMBINED.
Let me put it this way: Every single car sold in the United States this year could be made by Tesla and they still wouldn’t even be close to being worth what they are right now based on company fundamentals. Thats how insane this is. Shareholders of the company couldn’t be happier and yet their company is declining in sales and killing off its customer base. Absolutely insane.
That sounds like a bubble that needs a pin 📌
Why? Shareholders do not care about the health of the company so long as its stock price is high.
And so long as it continues to remain high as long as they remain shareholders. Do Tesla shareholders really think Tesla is going to keep its value? Do they think that what Musk is doing as CEO is really helping enhance that value? I mean, when was the last time he actually did any work as Tesla CEO?
Not many people want to be seen in a nazi car. Between that and twitter, the babyllionaire douche is really demonstrating his genius.
I use to want one. I was following news for them as electric cars were a bit of a hyper focus for me at the time.
My next car will very likely be full electric and there is no way I will own a Tesla now. I'm not even sure I would get one at this point if musk was no longer associated with it.
He has done everything he can to alienate the actual consumers of Tesla.
Until recently, I think I'd have given them a shot if Musk was 100% removed from the company, not by his choice. Now, Tesla is synonymous with a Nazi. That taint will last decades if they were to drop him right now, but I will never give them a penny.
there is no real reason to use twitter or a tesla at this point (outside of having bought one many years ago). Unfortunately spacex does not have a good alternate and im not really sure where the solar/battery stuff fall as far as their options compared to others.
im not really sure where the solar/battery stuff fall as far as their options compared to others.
For the residential market it looks like this.
Panels - Tesla solar panels are nothing special. They use other manufacturer's panels. They generally choose acceptable middle-of-the-road models, not the high end, not the low end.
Panel integration to homes - Telsa does have a clever part for linking into an existing home wiring panel that can be faster/cheaper that the common methods called a meter collar. However it is only certified for use in some states so far. Also, other companies are coming out with their own meter collar, but I concede that Tesla was the first to do this.
Battery - Tesla Powerwall is one of the most popular home battery options because of its large capacity relative to its price. However, there have been bad runs with some of its models with its inverter prematurely failing or running extra hot and shutting down. Overall its still considered higher quality unit and user experience. However, its not the only battery on the market. In the USA solar vendor specific batteries exist with pros and cons compared to Tesla. Enphase is one of the leaders in home solar, and they make an excellent (but expensive) battery system. Franklin also makes a vendor neutral battery that is highly regarded.
In all of these Tesla home solar products one thing that is universally agreed to is how horrible the Tesla customer service experience is. Getting a hold of a human is nearly impossible. When you do the human will frequently not follow up, and you'll find out that human is gone and you have to go through the process again to get your issue addressed. Replacement parts can be delayed by months mean, and not infrequently the subcontractors used to install the equipment cause problems or damage to the houses where the install occurs.
I chose to skip Tesla and did not use them for any of my home solar install and I'm very glad I did.
Not many people want to be seen in a nazi car
Eh, people really like VW bugs, and those we're commissioned by hitler and designed by the nazis. They've done a lot better at distancing themselves from their founder, though.
It’s round! Like a bridge!
Couldn't happen to a "better" man
I don't understand how the stock is STILL so high
One of the few conspiracies I actually subscribe to is that there is no legitimate stock market anymore, it is 100% under price control. Wins and losses - such as they are - are being determined by huge banks and hedge funds using AI algorithms, dark pools and phantom shares to maintain an iron grip. I got started down this path when I read Michael Lewis' book Flash Boys, which, like this video was made over 10 years ago.
I also suspect that because so much manufacturing is in China, what we think of as the world's stock market is just a small fraction of anything. Does an index count if an index doesn't measure much?
They released info to shareholders last week that showed an 8% drop in year over year sales... and yet the stock went up. Maybe people expected the drop to be even higher, so the drop was already priced in?? But it just feels like there is market manipulation going on.
My guess is that, with Musk basically in charge of the government now, investors are expecting huge returns from corruption.
Yeah, the guy who apparently now controls the strings of the government could just click a button to have the government order 1 million Teslas.
Other than investing in the hopes of seeing returns from corruption, it doesn't really make any sense.
It’s a cult.
Elon and Trump are butt-buddies.
Whenever I see a Tesla, I immediately think of those fucking neo-Nazis and his weekly chats with the bastard Vlad.
You couldn’t get me to drive a Tesla even if you paid me for it
I might be tempted to as long as the destination was "into a lake".
Edit: as soon as I wrote that, I realized: I don't wanna pollute a lake so nevermind.
Not one more Tesla should be sold in any democratic country.
The French (rightly) hate Nazi stuff. 🤷♂️
What ? They vote for Le Pen in droves. They love that nazi biatch.
I feel like no matter what animal people use to insult a human, the human is usually worse than the actual animal. Even with snakes. Muskrats are sweethearts, they just swim around ponds and tag along with beavers.
Snakes, rats, sharks, and pigs. These are all beautiful animals, but describe terrible humans. These animals don't deserve the association. I agree with you, and maybe we should stick to double-crossers, snitches, shysters, and cops or find other catchy names that work.
He's not worth the wasted filament...
what if we created it from grinding up tesla bumpbers
Can't say I can blame them for not wanting to give their money to a Nazi.
There's another factor that jumps to mind when I think of cars in France: they buy A LOT of French cars! I don't have any statistical data, but it feels like half of the cars on their roads are French... And now that their manufacturers' offer of EVs is starting to flesh out, they probably prefer buying "local".
Was in France for 3 weeks on holiday and saw almost exclusively Citroën, Renault, and Peugeot. My rental car was a Renault E Tech and after driving it,I looked into importing one to the USA (sadly it’s not possible for regulatory reasons).
As far as I know, Renault sales is ramping up.
I mean, have you seen the new R5? Sexy!
None of this matters, you know they'll have robots in like two years and Tesla will be the company worth the most, with a value of the next five companies combined*.
*This is what Tesla investors actually believe; Musk claimed this on the last earnings call last week.
Promising self driving next year since 2013
It was very nice of him to come up with a new story why people should pay this insane price for the stock. Fanboys were getting embarrassed repeating it for so many years, at least to the extend they are able to be embarrassed. But now they have something else.
Those investors should look at all his other broken promises.
Merge Boeing into Tesla, all gov vehicles now Teslas, they already got the space program on lock, just put them the rest of the way into the military industrial complex, he's already got access to all the treasury stuff for unlimited funds, bing bang boom, Tesla is now Stark Industires and we surround the country with the Elon Dome. 😒
It's a good start. I do my part by pointing and laughing at every owner of the big, stupid, dangerous cybertruck...
Not a large drop enough, let's make that 100% please
I waited until I could get my hands on a Hyundai EV because I couldn't stomach Musk. A buddy is currently considering a used Tesla because prices have cratered - but is factoring in the cost of several large 'Musk Sucks' stickers to plaster all over it.