Elon Musk’s Europe problem keeps getting worse
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla’sThe company’s sales in Europe fell for the 13th consecutive month in January, while its biggest Chinese rival posted another increase.
Data It was published A study by industry lobby group ACEA, or the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, on Tuesday found that Tesla’s new car registrations fell to 8,075 in January, a 17% drop from a year ago, the 13th consecutive month of sales falling.
Tesla’s market share in the European Union, England, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland decreased from 1% in the same month last year to 0.8%.
This marks another “very weak” start to the new year for Elon Musk’s company, Rico Luman, senior industry economist for transportation and logistics at Dutch bank ING, told CNBC via email.
“Tesla’s image in Europe has deteriorated in the last year and people now have a lot more choice with new affordable EVs (including BYD and others like MG and ZEEKR) entering the market, while Tesla has no new models,” he added.
Tesla’s focus on autonomous driving rather than introducing new vehicles and expanding its lineup of mass models is also likely a factor, Luman said.
“A large number of first-generation Teslas in Europe are currently being remarketed (after being leased for 4-6 years), which has caused second-hand prices to drop,” Luman said, adding that there are plenty of competitively priced Teslas on the second-hand market.
A Tesla car is charged at the Tesla electric vehicle charging station in Norheimsund, Norway, on August 22, 2025.
Sergey Gapon | Afp | Getty Images
Tesla has been beset by challenges in Europe, including strong competition from Chinese car brands in particular. It has also struggled to repair reputational damage from Musk’s rhetoric and his close relationship with the Trump administration after the US president returned to office last January.
Musk spent nearly $300 million to help US President Donald Trump get elected to a second term and then led a tumultuous push to cut federal agencies. At the height of Musk’s relationship with the White House, protests broke out at Tesla dealerships in Europe.
Musk’s relationship with Trump later soured following a bitter online feud with the US president.
BYD continues its rapid growth
Chinese EV giant BYD continued its rapid growth in Europe at the beginning of 2026, according to ACEA data. The company’s new car registrations rose 165% year-on-year to 18,242 in January.
BYD also more than doubled its market share across the region, from 0.7% in January 2025 to 1.9% last month. Tariffs have largely kept the company out of the United States, including a 100% tax on Chinese electric vehicles.
Overall, sales in the European Union, Britain and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries fell 3.5% in January to 961,382 cars.
While gasoline car registrations decreased by approximately 26% on an annual basis in January, battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric cars increased by approximately 14%, 32% and 6% respectively.
