Tesla cuts Model 3 price in Europe as sales slide amid Musk backlash | Tesla
Tesla launched a lower-priced version of its Model 3 sedan in Europe in a bid to stimulate sales following backlash against Elon Musk’s work with Donald Trump and weakening demand for electric vehicles.
Musk, the electric car maker’s CEO, argued that the cheaper option, launched in the US in October, would stimulate demand by appealing to a wider range of buyers.
The new Model 3 Standard is listed in Germany for 37,970 euros, 330,056 Norwegian kroner and 449,990 Swedish krona. The move follows the launch of the lower-priced Model Y SUV, Tesla’s best-selling model, in Europe and the US.
Tesla’s sales have fallen across Europe as the company faces increasingly tough competition from Chinese rival BYD, which outsold the US electric vehicle maker in the region for the first time in the spring.
Sales across the EU were also hurt by a buyer backlash against Musk’s support for Trump’s election campaign and his time working in the president’s administration.
The tech billionaire led sweeping layoffs during his tenure running the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), but resigned in May and after falling out with Trump over his “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill.
He has also alienated clients with other controversial political interventions, including appearing to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s victory rally, showing support for Germany’s far-right AfD party, and accusing Keir Starmer and other senior politicians of covering up a gang-grooming scandal.
Critics said new taxes on electric cars imposed in last month’s budget could undermine UK demand. Electric car sales in the UK rose by just 3.6% in November, the lowest rate in two years, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
“[This] It should be seen as a wake-up call that a sustained increase in demand for electric vehicles cannot be taken for granted,” said SMMT CEO Mike Hawes. “We must take every opportunity to encourage drivers to switch, not penalize them for doing so.”
The Chancellor’s new pay-per-mile road tax for electric vehicles will charge drivers 3p for every mile from April 2028, costing drivers an average of £250 a year.
