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Tesla sales fell 28% last month in 30 European countries even as
the overall market for electric vehicles expanded sharply,
according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
The poor showing comes after Tesla's billionaire CEO had
promised a “major rebound” was coming last month, adding to a
recent buying frenzy among investors.
They were selling on Wednesday, pushing the prices down more
than 4% in early afternoon trading.
Musk had said Tesla was sure to get a boost once the company was
done retooling its factories to produce a new version of its
biggest seller, the Model Y. But that was finished months ago,
and the new models are widely available. Investors are now
hoping that a cheaper Tesla expected to be out later year will
help reverse the sales decline.
Overall, battery electric vehicle sales rose 25% in Europe
compared to a year earlier. The market for EVs was particularly
strong in Germany, where Musk has angered potential buyers by
publicly supporting the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative
for Germany party in elections. Overall EV sales there leapt
45%.
China’s SAIC Motor was the big winner for the month with its
European sales of EVs and other kinds of cars jumping 38%. That
has allowed the company to leapfrog Tesla, which a year ago was
selling more cars in the region.
SAIC sold 18,716 vehicles last month versus Tesla’s 8,729.
The sales drop for Tesla comes at a crucial time for the company
as it launches a test run of its driverless ‘robotaxis’ service
in Austin, Texas. Musk says that if goes well, he expects to
introduce the service in several other cities in quick
succession and have as many as a million of the automated cabs
on roads by the end of the year.
Reviews so far have been mostly good, but the service is limited
to a dozen or so cars and some passengers have circulated videos
of problems during their rides, including one showing a robotaxi
heading down a lane for opposing traffic.
Federal traffic safety regulators said Tuesday they were looking
into the videos.
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