Tesla Sales Drop 60% In Germany: Are Elon Musk's Politics Getting In The Way Of EV Growth?

Tesla Inc TSLA is one of the largest electric vehicle companies in the world, but it could be facing sales declines in parts of the world due to CEO Elon Musk's deeper push into politics.

What Happened: In recent weeks, sales data for electric vehicle sales in 2024 has shown Tesla's market share and overall unit sales declining in regions, including the United States.

Along with sales drops in California and the United States overall, Tesla's sales in Europe are taking a sharp hit.

An Electrek report, citing data from Reuters and German road traffic agency KBA, shows Tesla's sales of 1,277 units in Germany for the month of January, down 59.5% year-over-year.

Sales are believed to be down due to the launch of the Model Y refresh and Musk's political push.

While Tesla's sales were down 59.5% in January, the overall German automotive market was down 2.8%. Battery-electric vehicle sales were up 53.5% year-over-year in Germany in January, meaning this was likely a Tesla problem and not the overall EV market.

Data shows sharp declines in the month of January across several European markets, which could be related to Musk's politics push and the Model Y update. Here are the sales figures below:

Germany: -59.5%
United Kingdom: -18.2%
France: -63.4%
Netherlands: -42.5%
Norway: -40.2%
Spain: -75.4%
Sweden: -46.0%
Denmark: -40.9%
Portugal: -31.0%

The overall drop was 50.4% year-over-year in January for the countries above combined.

Tesla sales were down 5.6% year-over-year in the United States in 2024, which came as the country set a record for EV sales for the year. In California, Tesla sales were down 12% year-over-year in 2024.

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Why It's Important: Musk has shown support for far-right German party Alternative for Germany and recently spoke virtually at the party's rally.

During his appearance, Musk downplayed the importance of moving on from Germany's past, potentially referencing the Nazi party and World War II.

“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,” Musk said, as reported by Bloomberg.

Musk said there is a “too much focus on past guilt” during his virtual appearance. The comments came as the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp was being recognized across Europe.

Polish Sports and Tourism Minister Slawomir Nitras called for a boycott in the country after Musk's comments.

In Poland, Tesla is the number one EV company with 4,460 vehicles sold in 2024, significantly more than second place Mercedes-Benz (1,640).

A Brand Finance survey showed Tesla's brand value declining $15 billion in 2024 dropping Tesla from 36^th place to 18^th place. In the survey, consumers were less likely to recommend or consider buying a Tesla vehicle with some users citing Musk's politics as the reason why.

While Musk has plenty of Tesla fans that will stay loyal no matter what he does or says, data is showing that Musk's deeper push into politics in America and Europe could have a drastic impact on Tesla's sales and market share in regions around the world.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock is down 3.2% to $366.19 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $488.54. Tesla stock is now down 3.5% year-to-date in 2025, but remains up 97.8% over the past year.

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