Tesla Now in Meltdown. Sales plummet 49%. Scandals swirl. Rumours about Spain exit cause Euro panic.

Tesla’s once-electric European ride has hit a pothole — and it’s not looking like a quick fix. The sparks are flying – but not for the better.

Tesla sales in Europe nosedive 49% – while rivals race ahead

In a shocking blow to Elon Musk’s EV empire, Tesla’s car sales across Europe plummeted by 49% in April compared to the same month last year — a grim statistic revealed by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

This is made even more painful by the fact that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe grew by 34.1% over the same time period. Ouch.

It gets worse. For the first time, BYD, a Chinese automaker, has surpassed Tesla in European sales of electric cars EThe following are some of the ways to improve your ability to speak.. According to JATO Dynamics dataBYD registered 7,212 vehicles in April, just edging Tesla’s 7,165. Renault’s R5 is a new electric car that has outsold Tesla cars in some countries.

Brand damaged by blue paint POlitics

Tesla’s image has taken a beating — literally and figuratively.

New Generation activists painted the Tesla Berlin showroom blue in March to protest Musk’s endorsement for Germany’s AfD far-right party. Blue is their party color.

Musk’s involvement in politics doesn’t stop at that. He has spent almost $300 million supporting Donald Trump. Re-election, He now divides his time between Tesla, and advising Trump’s newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”, or DOGE.

Musk made a promise to reduce his government involvement from “a few days per week” to only “a couple of them”. Investors are, however, sceptical.

No hybrids, no updates, no clue?

Tesla’s product range is also not helping.

The company finally released an upgraded Model Y SUV this year — but critics say the lineup remains stale, with no major new mass-market model launched in years. While European drivers are The fLocking hybrids, which now account for over 35% of the market. Tesla? Still fully electric. No hybrid options. And we won’t talk about the autonomous driving drama…

‘We’re two years behind Google’: Tesla’s AI chief admits Waymo lead

In a bombshell confession on the Gobinath Podcast, Tesla’s own Chief of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, admitted:

‘In autonomous driving, we’re about two years behind Google’s Waymo.’

That’s a far cry from Musk’s 2015 promise that Tesla cars would be fully self-driving by 2017.

Despite ambitions to launch its “Robocab” service in Austin, Texas this summer, experts say Tesla isn’t even close to Level 4 autonomy — let alone the promised Level 5. Greg McGuire from the University of Michigan’s autonomous vehicle research centre bluntly stated in late 2024 that Tesla is ‘not yet prepared’ to operate at that level.

Goodbye to Tesla in Spain? Tesla’s quiet withdrawal from Spain raises eyebrows

Nowhere is the Tesla turmoil more visible than in Spain, where rumours are swirling that Musk may be pulling the plug altogether.

Multiple Spanish outlets, including La Vanguardia, report that Tesla Spain and Twitter Spain have failed to file their company accounts — a legal requirement. The missed deadlines could trigger sanctions or even deregistration from Spain’s Business Registry.

When reached for comment, both Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) remained characteristically silent. Meanwhile, other tech titans like Apple and Microsoft have complied fully with Spanish law.

Insiders suggest this could indicate the beginning of Tesla’s withdrawal from the Spanish market, especially as it struggles to compete with BYD’s booming local sales — despite the EU slapping tariffs on Chinese EV imports.

The final charge?

Elon Musk’s empire appears increasingly overstretched: politically divisive, technologically behind, and losing market share fast.

While Musk recently reassured the public he’s committed to leading Tesla for the next five years, the bigger question is whether Europe still wants to come along for the ride.

Because from Berlin to Barcelona, and Oslo to Oxford, the warning lights are flashing. With sales collapsing, rivals overtaking, and scandals piling up, Tesla isn’t just in a skid — it’s in a full-blown spin. And if Elon’s not careful, Europe might be the first to get out and walk.

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