Tesla’s once-unassailable grip on Europe’s electric vehicle market is slipping fast, as sales across the EU halved for the fourth month in a row, marking a dramatic reversal for the American automaker once heralded as the future of the continent’s green transition.
The latest figures, released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, paint a bleak picture for Elon Musk’s flagship company. In April, Tesla delivered just over 11,200 vehicles across the EU—a 52% plunge compared to the same month last year. Once the darling of the European middle class and a symbol of sleek, sustainable modernity, Tesla is now struggling to maintain relevance in a market it helped create.
Industry analysts blame a combination of aggressive pricing and strategic expansion by Chinese manufacturers—particularly BYD, XPeng, and Nio—for Tesla’s spectacular slump. Backed by vast state subsidies and a sophisticated domestic supply chain, China’s EV giants have flooded the European market with low-cost models that undercut Tesla’s prices while offering increasingly competitive features.
The shift has exposed Tesla’s growing vulnerability on a continent where consumers are price-conscious, regulation-heavy, and increasingly spoilt for choice. According to data from Schmidt Automotive Research, Tesla’s market share in Western Europe has shrunk to just 7%, down from nearly 18% at its peak in 2022.
“For years, Tesla was the only game in town,” said Patrick Lemoine, a Paris-based auto analyst. “Now, European buyers can choose from a dozen credible alternatives—many of them better value, better built, and less politically volatile.”
Indeed, one factor repeatedly cited by European dealers is Musk himself. While the South African-born billionaire remains a cult figure in Silicon Valley, his increasingly erratic political interventions and cost-cutting decisions have alienated many of the environmentally conscious, centre-left buyers who once flocked to the Tesla brand. His recent endorsement of Donald Trump, combined with sweeping layoffs in the company’s European operations, has not helped.
“Buying a Tesla used to feel like you were voting for the future,” said Clara Huber, a 37-year-old teacher from Munich who recently opted for a Chinese-made MG4. “Now it just feels like you’re funding a tech oligarch’s social media addiction.”
Chinese manufacturers have moved fast to fill the gap. BYD, in particular, has ramped up its European presence with surgical precision, launching its Dolphin and Seal models at price points well below Tesla’s Model 3. These EVs boast similar battery performance, increasingly stylish interiors, and—in some cases—longer warranties. Crucially, they’re being built in or shipped through ports like Bremerhaven and Zeebrugge with state efficiency.
The development has not gone unnoticed in Brussels. The European Commission is currently investigating allegations of unfair state subsidies for Chinese EV firms, warning of a looming threat to Europe’s own automotive industry. But even if tariffs are imposed, insiders believe the Chinese companies are well-positioned to absorb them and adapt.
Meanwhile, legacy European brands such as Volkswagen, Renault, and Stellantis are quietly eating into Tesla’s market share as well, leveraging decades of experience and deep local networks to deliver EVs that feel native to European roads and sensibilities.
In Germany—the EU’s largest car market—Tesla’s registrations dropped by a staggering 63% in April. Similar declines were recorded in France, Italy, and Spain. Even in Nordic countries, traditionally a Tesla stronghold, the brand is losing ground to a growing wave of Scandinavian EV upstarts.
Tesla’s response has been muted. While the company has launched limited-time discounts and tinkered with feature packages, it has so far refused to engage in the kind of full-blown price war that some competitors have embraced. Musk’s decision to dissolve Tesla’s public relations department has also left European customers and regulators frustrated by a perceived lack of accountability or explanation.
Yet the company’s struggles in Europe may have broader implications. With margins squeezed and sales dwindling, Tesla risks falling behind not only in units sold but in shaping the narrative of the EV revolution. The danger, according to experts, is that Tesla becomes less a disrupter and more a legacy brand in a market now defined by Asian innovation and European pragmatism.
“There’s still time to recover,” said Lemoine. “But Tesla needs to decide whether it wants to be Apple—or Blackberry.”
For now, the roads of Europe are beginning to tell a different story. Where once the silent hum of a Model S turned heads, today it is just as likely to be a gleaming, Chinese-made competitor, gliding past a forecourt where another Tesla sits unsold.
