Archive image of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, OpenAI, and Twitter (X), in New York, on April 4, 2025.
Elon Musk’s electric dream stalls as Europe turns away from Tesla — battered by blue paint, political backlash, and BYD blowouts.
Credit: Photo Agency, Shutterstock.
Tesla’s once-electric European ride has hit a pothole — and it’s not looking like a quick fix. From showroom sabotage in Berlin to whispers of a full Spanish exit, the sparks are flying, but not in a good way.
Tesla sales in Europe nosedive 49% – while rivals race ahead
In a shocking blow to Elon Musk’s EV empire, Tesla’s car sales across Europe plummeted by 49% in April compared to the same month last year — a grim statistic revealed by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
The sting is even sharper considering that overall electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe rose by 34.1% in the same period. Ouch.
And it gets worse: Chinese auto giant BYD overtook Tesla in European electric car sales for the first time ever. According to JATO Dynamics data, BYD logged 7,212 vehicle registrations in April, narrowly edging out Tesla’s 7,165. Even Renault’s new electric R5 outsold Tesla in some countries.
Brand battered by blue paint and blue politics
Tesla’s image has taken a beating — literally and figuratively.
In March, Tesla’s Berlin showroom was drenched in blue paint by activists from the group New Generation, protesting Musk’s endorsement of Germany’s far-right AfD party, whose party colour is, fittingly, blue.
Musk’s political entanglements don’t stop there. He’s spent nearly $300 million backing Donald Trump’s re-election, and now splits his time between Tesla and advising Trump’s newly minted “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE.
During Tesla’s most recent earnings call, Musk promised to cut down his government involvement to just “a day or two per week”. Investors, however, remain deeply sceptical.
No hybrids, no updates, no clue?
Tesla’s product line isn’t helping either.
The company finally released an upgraded Model Y SUV this year — but critics say the lineup remains stale, with no major new mass-market model launched in years. Meanwhile, European drivers are flocking to hybrids, which now account for over 35% of the market. Tesla? Still fully electric. No hybrid options. And we won’t talk about the autonomous driving drama…
‘We’re two years behind Google’: Tesla’s AI chief admits Waymo lead
In a bombshell confession on the Gobinath Podcast, Tesla’s own Chief of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, admitted:
‘In autonomous driving, we’re about two years behind Google’s Waymo.’
That’s a far cry from Musk’s 2015 promise that Tesla cars would be fully self-driving by 2017.
Despite ambitions to launch its “Robocab” service in Austin, Texas this summer, experts say Tesla isn’t even close to Level 4 autonomy — let alone the promised Level 5. Greg McGuire from the University of Michigan’s autonomous vehicle research centre bluntly stated in late 2024 that Tesla is ‘not yet prepared’ to operate at that level.
Goodbye to Tesla in Spain? Tesla’s quiet withdrawal from Spain raises eyebrows
Nowhere is the Tesla turmoil more visible than in Spain, where rumours are swirling that Musk may be pulling the plug altogether.
Multiple Spanish outlets, including La Vanguardia, report that Tesla Spain and Twitter Spain have failed to file their company accounts — a legal requirement. The missed deadlines could trigger sanctions or even deregistration from Spain’s Business Registry.
When reached for comment, both Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) remained characteristically silent. Meanwhile, other tech titans like Apple and Microsoft have complied fully with Spanish law.
Insiders suggest this could indicate the beginning of Tesla’s withdrawal from the Spanish market, especially as it struggles to compete with BYD’s booming local sales — despite the EU slapping tariffs on Chinese EV imports.
The final charge?
Elon Musk’s empire appears increasingly overstretched: politically divisive, technologically behind, and losing market share fast.
While Musk recently reassured the public he’s committed to leading Tesla for the next five years, the bigger question is whether Europe still wants to come along for the ride.
Because from Berlin to Barcelona, and Oslo to Oxford, the warning lights are flashing. With sales collapsing, rivals overtaking, and scandals piling up, Tesla isn’t just in a skid — it’s in a full-blown spin. And if Elon’s not careful, Europe might be the first to get out and walk.
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