Tesla stock is facing a nightmare that it’s not waking up from | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

For someone who wears many hats, including—but not limited to—being the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, the owner of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Elon Musk seems to have a lot of time on his hands.

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These days, it is hard to avoid any passing mention of him or his work with the current administration in Washington, D.C., whether you are on social media or not.

But while he is off doing things unrelated to Tesla, including his new responsibilities at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the EV maker whose shares account for the bulk of his wealth is facing faltering growth in a key market.

A Tesla Model Y leaves a car carrier. New sales figures show that Tesla’s deliveries in Europe have dropped dramatically for the second month in a row.

Future Publishing/Getty Images

Tesla’s European affair is fading.

As first reported by Electrek, Tesla’s deliveries in Europe have dropped dramatically for the second month in a row.

Europe is a major market for Tesla; however, while the EV-friendly continent saw EV growth, Tesla sales have decreased.

Early data for February European EV sales shows buyers in multiple countries over the pond are choosing brands other than the American automaker.

Tesla sales in Norway, a relatively EV-friendly country, in February 2025, are down 48.4% year-over-year from 2024. Denmark and Sweden; home of rivals Volvo and Polestar, also saw year-over-year drops of 53.1% and 42.4%, respectively, for February, while French sales dropped by more than 26%

These numbers continue a downward trend for the Elon Musk-led automaker.

In January, Tesla sales plummeted by double-digit percentages in several major European markets, including Germany, the UK, and France.

That month, Tesla sales in Sweden dropped by 44%. In France, Tesla sales collapsed by 63%, while sales in Norway dropped by 38% and sales in the Netherlands dropped by 42%.

Europe is becoming a tougher market for Tesla, as it shares an EV market not just with established, bread-and-butter automakers like BMW and Audi, but also with rivals that are legislatively shielded from American competition.

According to a report from Reuters, the combined market share of EVs from Chinese brands like BYD (BYDDY) , MG, and XPeng (XPEV) increased from 5.1% in 2023 to 8.8% in 2024.

More Business of EVs:

The Tesla backlash is very real and growing

Tesla’s drop in sales can be partially attributed to Elon Musk’s recent affairs, which have sparked international backlash.

In recent months, Musk’s increasingly outspoken political positions—and his new role as a cost-cutting government contractor—have prompted a backlash from activists and disgruntled Tesla owners.

Organized protests outside Tesla showrooms and overt acts of vandalism against Tesla cars and its Superchargers have become frequent.

On March 3, the French newspaper La Depeche reported that an act of arson outside a Tesla showroom near Toulouse, France, destroyed twelve Tesla vehicles. The same day, NBC 10 Boston reported that investigators in Littleton, Massachusetts, believe a fire at a Tesla Supercharger in the town was intentionally set.

Other EV makers were taking advantage of the backlash. Tesla rival Polestar cashed in and welcomed Tesla refugees with open arms and massive discounts of up to $20,000 on its electric vehicles. In a post on LinkedIn, a Polestar executive said that the response to its generous offer has been received well.”The numbers speak for themselves,” Polestar Head of Sales Jordan Hofmann said in a post on LinkedIn. “This week saw some of the highest order days for Polestar 3…The excitement is real, the momentum is growing, and as I always say – we’re just getting started!”

At the same time, some Tesla owners are disassociating themselves from the brand in any way they can, whether by buying bumper stickers, rebadging their Teslas to other brands, or even parting ways with their Teslas.

Last month, singer Sheryl Crow sold her Model Y, and other “normal” EV owners have done the same. A Tesla owner named Filipos told The Guardian that he traded in his Model 3 Performance in February after he witnessed Musk make Sieg Heil-esque salutes after President Trump’s inauguration.

“I didn’t want to be saddled with a vehicle that was associated with something so awful,” he told the Guardian. “When you own a vehicle like that, you are advertising for that company.”

Another owner, who went by the name of Ron, told the British newspaper that he took on a $4,000 loss to get rid of his car but felt that driving the Tesla was akin to rolling in “a billboard that supported [Elon’s] endeavors and his thoughts and ideologies.”

“I guess you could say I happily paid $4,000 to get rid of that car,” he said. “That’s how much I disagree with his politics.”

All the while, Tesla shares have dropped more than 30% over the past four weeks and have dropped from a high above $303 this week to as low as $261 during Tuesday’s session.

Tesla, Inc. shares are traded on the NASDAQ as TSLA.