Tesla sales tumble across Europe as Elon Musk’s brand changes from cars to politics

The best-selling electric car brand is seeing steep sales falls across Europe. While a soon-to-be launched new Model Y may be one reason, Elon Musk’s plummeting popularity among Europeans may also play a part

Tesla sales fell steeply around Europe in January, as Elon Musk intervened in EU elections and became embedded in Donal Trump’s White House.

Monthly tracking figures show falls as high as 75pc in some European countries compared to the same month last year.

In Ireland, the brand fell out of the top 10 electric car brands for the first time in January, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. The collapse comes as electric car sales rose 20pc in Ireland in January, to 4,925.

In France, Tesla sales fell by 63pc while Spain saw a 75pc decline. Swedish Tesla sales saw a 46pc fall, while Holland registered a 43pc drop. Norway, which is one of Europe’s strongest electric car markets by local sales proportionality, saw Teslas sales fall by 40pc, with…