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By Hugh Cameron
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Tesla's sales have once again declined in Europe, even as demand for electric vehicles across the region continues to boom, according to new industry data.
The company sold 8,729 vehicles in the European Union (EU) last month, down 40.5 percent from the 14,682 sold in May 2024, according to data released Wednesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Across the EU, U.K. and European Free Trade Association (EFTA)—Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland—sales were down 27.9 percent over the same period. It marks the fifth consecutive month of declines for Tesla in Europe, Reuters reported.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk, during an conference call in April, said he was "extremely optimistic about the future of the company."
Newsweek contacted Tesla via email on Wednesday for comment.
Why It Matters
Tesla's global sales have struggled in 2025, with developing foreign competition further threatening its leading position in key markets, and backlash against CEO Elon Musk's role in Donald Trump's administration resulting in protests and boycotts of the company's vehicles.
Despite Musk's recent departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the new data suggests that Tesla's may continue.
What To Know
Tesla's declining sales came amid a wider increase in the popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles. Sales of battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids rose by 27.2 percent and 46.1 percent, respectively, while registrations for hybrid electrics increased by 14.2 percent between May 2024 and May 2025.
Companies like BMW, Volkswagen and Skoda picked up steam in May, while Chinese state-owned manufacturer SAIC Motor saw a 22.5 percent year-on-year increase in sales, the ACEA said.
Separate data released Tuesday by Jato Dynamics found that Chinese automakers sold 65,808 vehicles in Europe in May, up 111 percent from 31,233 last year, while more than doubling market share to 5.9 percent. The business intelligence platform last month revealed that Shenzhen-based automaker BYD had outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time ever in April.
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The new data follows Musk's exit from the Trump administration, which analysts had long viewed as a distraction from his core business duties, as well a potential drag on Tesla's performance and stock price. Musk's oversight of DOGE as it attempted to aggressively strip out what it viewed as waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending led to boycotts of the Tesla brand, protests at dealerships, and investors to call for the CEOs departure from the company.
Last month, Musk ended his five-month tenure with DOGE, having failed to locate the $2 trillion in savings he initially sought, but said he had "done enough" with the cost-cutting department.
Russ Mould, Investment Director at UK investment platform AJ Bell, told Newsweek Musk's "political dabbling may not have helped," but competition is the bigger issue.
What People Are Saying
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, during an conference call in April, said he was "extremely optimistic about the future of the company," which will be "fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous cars and large-scale—being large volume—vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots."
"The value of a company that makes truly useful autonomous humanoid robots and autonomous useful vehicles at scale, at low cost—which is what Tesla is going to do—is staggering," Musk continued. "I continue to believe that Tesla, with excellent execution, will be the most valuable company in the world by far."
Russ Mould, Investment Director at UK investment platform AJ Bell, told Newsweek: "Elon Musk's political dabbling may not have helped at the margin, but the real issue probably lies with competition, as the Chinese reap the benefits of their ten-year-old 'Made in China' programme, and the Europeans start to exercise greater influence in the EV market."
Mould said that Tesla's share price, up more than 75 percent in the past year, does not reflect any particular concern among investors, who "will no doubt welcome the return of more of Mr. Musk's attention and energy."
He added that the Tesla's $1 trillion market cap "looks to [be] pricing in a lot of hope and expectation for autonomous driving, robotics, AI and more."
What Happens Next?
In addition to attempting to mount a sales recovery in Europe, Tesla's focus is on the recent launch of its robotaxi service, a human-supervised trial using its Model Y vehicles and taking place in a geofenced area of Austin, Texas.
The company is scheduled to release its next earnings report in late July.
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