Tesla's sales in Europe again reported a decline in May. Increasing competition and Elon Musk's ties to US President Donald Trump have dampened demand despite a growing electric car market, Daily Sabah reported.
Sales of battery electric vehicles jumped 25% in Europe in May compared to the same month last year, according to ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Trade Association.
Meanwhile, Tesla sold 40.2% fewer cars in May.
The decline is linked to its aging fleet, competition from European and Chinese rivals and consumer disapproval of Musk's work in the Trump administration.
Musk left his role as a cost-cutting figure in the US government at the end of May and in June publicly clashed with Trump over the US president's spending bill.
In the first five months of 2025 Tesla sales fell 45.2% year-on-year. The US company's market share of the overall European car market has fallen to 1.1% from 2% last year. Tesla's decline comes as electric vehicle sales in Europe rebounded by 26.1% in the first five months of the year. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 15.4% of all cars sold in May, compared with 12.1% in the same month last year. The market share of electric vehicles is "still far from the necessary and expected level," ACEA chief Sigrid de Vries said. The EU aims to end sales of new combustion engine cars by 2035, but high prices and a lack of charging infrastructure have made consumers think twice.
“Consumer reluctance is by no means a myth and we need to incentivise a supportive ecosystem – from charging infrastructure to fiscal incentives – to ensure that the uptake of battery models can be significantly accelerated,“ added de Vries.
Overall, car sales in Europe increased by 1.6% last month but fell by 0.6% in the first five months of the year.