The world’s most recognised EV brand Tesla (NASDAQ : TSLA) has posted a bruising 49% drop in year-on-year sales in Europe for the month of April and was beaten in sales by Chinese brand BYD.
The carmaker delivered just 7,261 vehicles last month, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
It’s the fourth consecutive month in the red in Europe for Elon Musk’s car brand - and this time, the context has hit home.
While Tesla trended down, the broader EV market in Europe surged ahead - clocking in a whopping 27.8% year-on-year (YoY) growth for the month of April.
That was largely due to a surge in sales from Chinese EV maker BYD, outperforming Tesla for the first time, with 7,231 new EVs registered - a jaw-dropping 169% YoY increase.
That statistical divergence could be signaling a structural shift: that Tesla is no longer the automatic choice in a region rapidly embracing domestic and Asian alternatives tailored to European tastes.
For investors, the bigger picture doesn't look much better. The United States carmaker shed 40% of its value in the first four months of 2025, while reporting a 20% drop in car revenue and a 71% decline in net income for Q1 2025.
That raised questions from investors around Musk’s focus on the business, with the Tesla CEO constantly parading in public with Trump and heading up the administration’s newly minted DOGE cost-cutting unit.
Last week, Musk heeded their call, pledging to scale back his DOGE involvement and reinforcing his commitment to steering Tesla through the next five years.
Investors seem cautiously relieved.
On Tuesday trade Tesla stock popped 6.98%, closing at $363.04 on the NASDAQ - making it the best performer among the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks for the day.
