Tesla sold 6,600 cars in July across the 27 EU countries, down from 11,465 a year earlier, a 40% drop despite a 39% rise in battery-electric vehicle sales overall. BYD captured 1.1% of all car sales in July versus Tesla's 0.7%. Year-to-date Tesla sales fell 44% for the first seven months. Contributing factors include European backlash to Elon Musk's political statements and protests, delayed regulatory approval of Full-Self Driving features in Europe, and temporary factory closures to retool for a new Model Y. The company plans cheaper models late in the year to spur demand.
Europeans angry at Elon Musk still aren't buying his cars months after the billionaire predicted a "major rebound" in Tesla sales, data released Thursday shows. Tesla sales plunged 40% in July in the 27 European Union countries compared with the year earlier even as sales overall of electric vehicle soared, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Meanwhile sales of Chinese rival BYD continued to climb fast, grabbing 1.1% market share of all car sales in the month versus Tesla's 0.7%.
Musk angered many Europeans by wading into politics there, embracing far-right candidates, calling a British prime minister an "evil tyrant" who belongs in prison and telling Germans "things will get very, very much worse" in their country if they didn't vote for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party. Protests broke out in several cities, including a hanging of the billionaire in effigy in Milan and posters in London likening him to a Nazi.
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