Tesla sales slam into reverse across Europe as demand for electric cars stalls

Tesla sales have tumbled in Europe as demand stalls.

The US electric car maker, run by Elon Musk, sold 13,951 vehicles last month, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association – down by 2.3 per cent from last year and the worst total since January 2023.

Appetite for electric cars has remained sluggish as major markets reduce subsidies or roll back green policies.

In September, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed a UK ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030 to 2035, while Germany and Sweden have reduced subsidies for vehicles.

Tesla sold 100,124 cars in the first four months of 2024, down from 108,737 year-on-year. 

Figures suggest 13,120 were sold in the UK, down from 15,168.

Last month, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz said they were seeing a waning appetite for fully electric cars.

The lack of charging infrastructure has also been a concern across Europe. 

But the figures will be a nasty blow to Musk who last month revealed Tesla’s biggest drop in revenues for more than a decade.

It posted sales of £17billion for the three months to the end of March, which was a 9 per cent fall, and has recently announced plans to axe 10 per cent of staff – 14,000 job losses.