"My Car Is Embarrassing"... Tesla Sales Down 72% in Australia Following Europe

Tesla Drivers "Mocked on the Road"
Arson Incidents Continue to Be Reported

On the 5th (local time), some residents held a protest in front of the Tesla dealership located in Palo Alto, California, USA. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

""I am ashamed to drive this car now."

Jess, a Sydney resident who has been driving a leased Model Y through her husband's workplace for the past year, told The Guardian Australia in January that after seeing Tesla CEO Elon Musk perform a Nazi salute, she "really wanted to get rid of the car." Unable to terminate the lease contract immediately, she bought a sticker that read "Bought this car before Elon went crazy" and put it on her vehicle.

The electric car company Tesla, led by Musk who has drawn backlash for supporting far-right political forces and performing a 'Nazi salute' in public, has seen its sales in Australia drop by nearly a quarter. Tesla is also facing sales difficulties in Europe and other regions. There have been frequent reports of arson incidents targeting Tesla charging stations and vehicles in the U.S. and Europe.

Tesla Sales in Australia Fell 72% Last Month

According to The Guardian Australia on the 7th (local time), Tesla's sales in Australia last month dropped by about 72% compared to the same period last year. Sales of the Model 3, Tesla's most popular affordable model, plunged by 81%.

The major reasons for Tesla's poor sales performance include the rise of cheaper Chinese electric car companies and an overall decline in automobile demand. Additionally, the negative image of Tesla founder Musk, who has emerged as a de facto second-in-command in the Trump administration, is believed to have had an adverse effect.

In particular, among Australian consumers, there is considerable resentment toward Musk for performing a Nazi-style salute at President Trump's inauguration celebration in January, the media reported. An anonymous Tesla owner said they were so angry at Musk that they recently went to a used car dealer and exchanged their Tesla for another electric vehicle. On that same day, three customers, including themselves, returned Tesla cars to the dealer for similar reasons.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla AFP Yonhap News

Recently, several posts appeared in a Facebook group for Tesla owners in Australia reporting being mocked by other drivers while driving their Teslas, the media added. One user lamented that while driving their Tesla, another driver made an 'L' sign on their forehead with their fingers, mocking them as a "loser."

Following the Nazi salute, Musk publicly supported far-right parties such as Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD), provoking backlash. Amid this, Tesla's sales in Europe dropped 45% in January, with sales in Germany plunging 60% in January and 76% in February.

Arson Incidents Increasing in the U.S. and Europe

There have been a series of arson or attempted arson incidents related to Tesla. In the U.S., on the 3rd at around 1:10 a.m., police and fire departments responded to a fire reported at a Tesla charging station located on the grounds of a large shopping center. The New York Times (NYT), NBC, Sky News, and others reported the incident, suggesting it might be related to some Americans' resentment toward Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

On the 27th of last month, the Colorado District Attorney's Office arrested and charged a 42-year-old woman for attempting arson and damaging vehicles at a Tesla dealership in Loveland, north of Denver. The suspect is accused of spray-painting the word "Nazi" on the exterior wall of the Tesla store and setting fire to Tesla vehicles parked nearby.

In Europe, arson attacks targeting Tesla have also been reported. On the 24th of last month, a fire suspected to be arson broke out at a construction site related to the expansion of Tesla's factory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. On the 2nd, a fire suspected to be arson occurred at a Tesla store in Toulouse, a city in southern France, destroying or damaging 12 Tesla vehicles.