Is it the Musk effect? Tesla sales slump in Australia and Europe

Its Model Y fared better, with sales up 21 per cent year-on-year to 465 in January 2025.

In 2024, Tesla posted its first-ever annual decline in deliveries, though it is still the leading EV seller in the United States. Musk said he would soon launch long-awaited cheaper electric cars, and the company has increased its focus on autonomous driving technologies.

The company accounted for 42 per cent of all Australian electric vehicle sales in 2024, but is fighting increased competition from cheaper Chinese models from the likes of MG and BYD, as well as lesser-known brands like Chery.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its sales.

In Australia, bumper stickers have begun popping up on some Tesla’s vehicles with owners proclaiming they “bought it before we knew how awful Elon is”.

A late January survey conducted by EV review website Electrifying.com showed that 59 per cent of British owners of electric cars, and those intending to buy such a vehicle, said Musk’s influence would deter them from buying a Tesla.

“Musk’s influence on the brand is becoming increasingly polarising, pushing many buyers to look elsewhere,” said Electrifying.com CEO Ginny Buckley.

“Competition has never been fiercer, and Tesla is already feeling the pressure.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month pre-emptively warned Musk not to get involved in the upcoming federal election, noting that Australia has anti-foreign interference laws.

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Asked in an interview with this masthead about Musk’s interventions, Albanese said his job was to focus on Australia’s national interest.

“We have foreign interference laws in this country and Australian elections are a matter for Australians,” Albanese said. “I have no intention of being a … commentator on what people overseas want to engage in. People will make their own judgments and have their own views about that.”

European politicians have also pushed back against Musk’s recent comments, which include the amplification of far-right commentators on X. Some accounts have quit the platform, citing the spread of misinformation.

Musk has dismissed criticism against him as an affront to democracy and free speech. The Tesla CEO has become a vocal supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of February elections.

He recently told an AfD rally just before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp that Germans should not feel guilt for the sins of their great-grandparents.

However, Ben Nelmes, who runs research group New AutoMotive, believes Tesla’s problems stem less from Musk’s actions and more from its failure to launch a new mainstream model since the Model Y in 2020, while rivals, including Chinese EV makers, have fresher products on the market.

“It’s not due to Musk’s views or British motorists’ views about Musk – [Tesla] stopped innovating after the Model Y,” he told Reuters.

Despite these factors, the company’s stock has continued to outperform the market, with its share price more than doubling over the past year.