ARTICLE AD BOX
Tesla sales in some European markets fell sharply in April, in an acceleration of a trend seen since the beginning of the year for Elon Musk's EV brand.
It comes as Europeans buy more Chinese cars and some protest against his political views.
Tesla's new car sales in April fell by 80.7% in Sweden, national data showed on Friday, a day after Denmark recorded a 67.2% drop in Tesla sales and France reported a 59.4% fall, its fourth straight month of sales contraction.
In Sweden, this was the lowest figure since October 2022, when 43 new Teslas were registered, data from Mobility Sweden showed.
The group's European sales dropped 28.2% in March as it faces a number of challenges in the continent. Tesla is facing increased competition from traditional automaker rivals, while new Chinese entrants are launching new and often cheaper EVs.
Musk's embrace of far-right politics in Europe has also led to protests against the billionaire CEO and the company, as well as vandalism at its showrooms and charging stations across the U.S. and Europe.
Other European countries, including Italy and Norway, will release April car sales data on Friday.
On Thursday Tesla rushed to defend its chief executive, Elon Musk, assuring he had the board's confidence amid rising investor worries about his prolonged absences, polarizing politics and the EV maker's plunging sales and profit.
The board reacted after a Wall Street Journal report that it had considered replacing Musk, which board chair Robyn Denholm denied. Denholm herself has taken heat for her high compensation and perceived failures to hold Musk accountable to shareholders.
The latest Musk drama underscores the unique dilemma Tesla's board faces in managing him as he oversees five other companies and, more recently, has focused primarily on advising Republican U.S. President Donald Trump - alienating Tesla's politically liberal customer base.
Denholm seemed to address the Musk faithful as she denied the Journal report, saying the board was "highly confident" he could execute "the exciting growth plan ahead."
Company insiders have suggested to Musk for years that he replace himself in a different way - by hiring a top executive as a day-to-day manager while Musk continues as more of a figurehead, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
Other Musk companies operate that way, most notably rocket-maker SpaceX, where Gwynne Shotwell serves as president and COO.
Musk has consistently refused to do the same at Tesla, the two people said.
English (US) ·