Struggling Tesla Sales: Is the Automaker Heading for a Collapse?
If you think the Tesla fever has cooled off in France, you're bloody right! This once-prestigious American brand is now playing catch-up in the French asphalt jungle. With a paltry 863 cars sold in April last year, the Model Y, Tesla's flagship EV, has dropped out of the top 10 electric vehicle sales. 📸 Moose/Adobe Stock By Justine Pérou, Automotive Editor
The French auto market plummeted in April, with only 138,697 new passenger cars registered. But Tesla's performance was even poorer. Compared to the same month in 2024, sales dropped nearly 60%. Gone are the days when Tesla reigned supreme in the French electric vehicle market.
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This boycott cleared the way for homegrown brands like the Renault 5, which sold nearly 11,500 units in the same period. Tesla's Model Y, once the sales champion in 2023 and 2024, now lags behind in 11th place, managing only 541 units in April, a 62% drop. Some experts might minimize these dismal results, pointing to the new Model Y's limited availability of high-end versions, or Tesla's habit of shipping massive cargo before the end of the quarter.
But Tesla's reputation is also taking a hit, thanks to the polarizing antics of its eccentric CEO, Elon Musk, who's cozied up to former President Donald Trump. This political alignment has pushed European consumers away, creating too much mistrust. Moreover, critics argue that Tesla's range is starting to feel stale, with the Cybertruck still unavailable in Europe. This lack of new models is ceding more ground to fierce competition from French manufacturers and Chinese competitors like BYD, who sold 503 Seal sedans in France last month, just 38 units behind the Model Y.
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Tesla's bright future isn't so clear anymore. Once a meteoric rise to fame, Tesla now faces stiff competition from both newcomers and traditional automakers, challenging the Model Y and Model 3's market share in Europe. In France, Tesla's dominance is no longer a given.
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Associated topics:
- Tesla
- Automotive market
- Electric car
- Renault
- Car
- Elon Musk
- Automotive industry
- Competition
- French automotive market
Despite Tesla's struggles in France, falling from the top dog to a struggling contender, the French automotive market remains highly competitive. This has led to a drop in Tesla's sales, with the Model Y being kicked out of France's top 10 sales, revealing a growing interest in homegrown brands such as Renault and newcomers like BYD. These developments highlight the increasing competition faced by Tesla in Europe, particularly in the French market.
