Summary
Tesla’s European market share is declining sharply, with EU registrations dropping 40.9% in November 2024 compared to last year, and year-to-date registrations down 15.2%.
Including the UK and EFTA, Tesla’s registrations fell 13.7% this year.
The drop stems from reduced government EV incentives and growing dissatisfaction with CEO Elon Musk.
Despite Tesla’s decline, overall EV registrations in Europe have remained stable as competing automakers gain ground. Tesla remains the largest EV producer in Europe but faces growing pressure from rivals capitalizing on its waning dominance.
I would characterize Tesla stock not as a pump & dump scheme anymore, but as a bet on Musk’s position to extract concessions from his political connections. He has got his way already with Trump planning to end EV subsidies that mostly benefited Tesla’s competitors, although Trump intended to do so anyway, and he may yet push against regulation that would threaten Tesla’s market position in the US, like federal charging standards. He may also get Trump to impose harsher tariffs on Chinese electrical vehicles than he otherwise would, although such tariffs enjoy bipartisan support.