Staggering sales drops, swastika-daubed EVs, companies culling fleet models, and fan-forum owners selling their cars—Elon Musk’s alt-right antics are seriously impacting his electric car business. ELON MUSK’S TOXICITY among many Europeans is such that even owners of Tesla news websites have ditched Muskmobiles for other EV brands. Jon Gibbs of Birmingham, England, runs what he calls the “world’s biggest Tesla inventory site.” Tesla-info, Gibbs says, stores the “largest database of new and used Tesla motors in the world.” (…) “While Musk might get away with a [Nazi-like] salute in some parts of the world, European markets reject such behavior,” Kraaijvanger tells WIRED. “World War Two still casts a long shadow.” He may be right. Tesla sales are in free fall in Europe right now. Last month, Norway—where EVs overtook internal combustion vehicles in total market share in 2024—recorded a biting 37.9 percent slump. At the same time, Tesla sales in France fell by a thumping 63.4 percent. And it gets even worse: In Spain, Tesla sales plummeted by 75.4 percent.
via wired: Elon Musk’s Toxicity Could Spell Disaster for Tesla
Von Erik Drost – 2024 Cleveland Auto Show, CC BY 2.0, Link