Tesla Market Cap Falls Below $1 Trillion... Sharp Decline in European Sales

Tesla Falls Behind BYD in the UK
Stock Price Plummets 8%

US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla's electric vehicle sales in Europe sharply declined last month, causing its market capitalization to fall below $1 trillion.

On the 25th (local time), Bloomberg News cited data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, reporting that Tesla's new car registrations in Europe last month dropped 45% year-on-year to 9,945 units.

Last month, Tesla sold 1,277 units in Germany, marking the lowest monthly sales since July 2021, and sales in France decreased by 63% compared to last year, recording the weakest performance since August 2022.

Notably, in the UK, Tesla recorded fewer sales than the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD for the first time. While the electric vehicle market in the UK grew by 42% last month, Tesla's revenue declined by nearly 8%.

Bloomberg analyzed that Tesla may have experienced inventory shortages in some markets due to excessive focus on expanding sales at the end of last year. Additionally, the launch of new models and changes in the production process may have negatively impacted sales volume.

Furthermore, there is an interpretation that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's involvement in European politics, including support for a far-right German party, may have contributed to the poor sales performance. Steve Mann, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, pointed out, "Tesla's dream for Europe is stagnating, and at the same time, CEO Musk is facing (political) controversies."

Last month, ahead of the German federal election, Musk appeared in a video during the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's campaign, stating, "It is good to have pride as a German," and "As you know, there seems to be too much obsession with past guilt. We need to move beyond that," which drew backlash from some consumers.

On the same day, the Nasdaq index, centered on technology stocks, fell more than 1% due to a consumer confidence index below expectations, while Tesla's stock price dropped 8.4% to $302.80. Until mid-December last year, Tesla's stock price was on a record rally, but it has fallen 16% over the past four trading days alone, erasing $186 billion from its market capitalization.

As a result, Tesla's market capitalization fell below the $1 trillion mark for the first time since November 7 last year, recording $948.8 billion.