Europeans Are Refusing To Buy Teslas As Sales Crater

Tesla’s sales in Germany and the United Kingdom are so dismal they are pretty much becoming a statistically insignificant rounding error on sales reports. The Austin, Texas–based automaker’s sales dropped 46% in Germany and 62% in the UK year-over-year in April. The news comes as demand for EVs in Europe continues to rise.

All in all, Tesla sold just 885 vehicles in Germany in April. It’s the fourth straight month of sales declines to kick off a miserable 2025 for Elon Musk’s automaker. Its cumulative year-to-date drop is now over 60%, according to Reuters. Somehow, its sales were even worse in the UK, where sales dropped to just 512 units in the fourth month of 2025. In April of 2024, it moved 1,352 vehicles. It has caused its market share to drop from 12.5% a year ago to just 9.3% today.

In both countries, the automaker’s website says it estimated deliveries of the facelifted Model Y crossover will start sometime in June, but it’s still going to take a few months before sales data shows if this refresh was enough to actually get customers to forget the fact Elon Musk has aligned himself with far-right political parties across the world — especially Germany’s AfD party.

It isn’t just Germany and the UK where numbers are falling, though. Other European countries like Sweden and France have fallen by 80% and 59%, respectively, according to the New York Times. Here’s what one analyst told the paper:

“European April data is strongly indicating that this is more than a model changeover blip, and Tesla’s European issues are more deeply rooted and stemming from Mr. Musk,” said Matthias Schmidt, an analyst who covers the European auto market at Schmidt Automotive Research.

Besides Musk’s nasty politics, the simple fact of the matter is that the competition — especially from China — is getting way better and more popular despite a 27% import tariff in the EU. BYD recorded a 755% sales jump in Germany in April. In the UK, where there is no tariff, BYD saw a 311% sales increase.

I’m not sure what it’s going to take for Tesla to turn its dismal sales side around, but I know for a fact it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a light refresh of a car that has been on sale for five years and a stainless steel behemoth of a truck that lets everyone know you don’t care if they live or die.