Elon Musk has a simple solution for Tesla’s problems in Europe | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Elon Musk’s time in Washington, D.C., leading the Department of Government Efficiency may have been short, but he seems to have learned a lot from the experience.

As an unofficial member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Musk was only allowed to serve in government for 130 days.

Once his time was up, his relationship with Trump disintegrated, leading to a war of words and online threats that have continued to this week.

While Musk promised investors he would spend more time at Tesla HQ in Austin once his time in D.C. ended, he has flirted with starting his own political party and spends much of his social media bandwidth commenting on government concerns.

But his political interests aren’t just confined to the U.S.; Musk has also commented on the nonexistent white genocide he believes is happening in South Africa.

Musk has also publicly endorsed the AfD, a German right-wing party that some view as extremist, and he was accused of doing a Nazi salute on stage.

Coincidentally, Germany is also one of the many European countries where Tesla sales have fallen sharply since Musk embarked on his far-right political journey.

Just a couple of years after it spent billions to build a European hub in Germany, Tesla’s future on the mainland appears to be worse than ever.

Tesla sales in Europe were down nearly 40% from January to April compared to the previous year. In June, sales dropped another 39%. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Tesla’s first-half sales were down 44% in Europe.

Tesla says it has a simple solution for falling sales.

Image source&colon; Leong/Washington Post via Getty Images

Elon Musk pivots on the reason European sales are declining

Months ago, Musk seemingly acknowledged that his political activities have played a part in his company’s decline.

After sales in Germany reportedly fell 62%, and numbers in Norway, the UK, and France weren’t much better, Musk said that any politically left-leaning buyers who abandoned the company have been replaced by people who align better with his politics.

Perhaps his time in Washington has made him more diplomatic, because he wasn’t so flippant when talking to investors this week.

During his second-quarter earnings call, he detailed how Tesla would win back customers.

“It’s worth noting that we do not actually yet have approval for supervised FSD in Europe. So our sales in Europe, we think, will improve significantly once we are able to give customers the same experience that they have in the U.S.,” Musk said.

“[FSD] really is the single biggest demand driver.”

But that doesn’t explain why the company reported six months of falling market share. January YouGov polls showing 71% unfavorability ratings in Germany and the UK may explain the decline a bit more.

Tesla fires the head of North America and Europe

One reason investors may have trouble swallowing Musk’s assertion that a lack of FSD is the reason for falling European sales is the company’s recent C-suite shakeup.

Tesla reportedly fired Omead Afshar, its head of North American and European operations, in June following a massive drop in European EV deliveries.

Afshar, who joined Tesla in 2017, was just promoted to the position in November. The Wall Street Journal described Afshar as one of Musk’s closest confidants at the company.

Tesla shares closed the week down about 4%, rallying sharply after the steep decline immediately following its earnings release.