Elon Musk backlash turns into global sales slump for Tesla

If there is anyplace Tesla should be thriving, it’s Norway. Electric vehicles account for more than 90% of new car sales in the Scandinavian country, and buyers here are among the most sophisticated in the world when it comes to understanding the nuances of batteries, charging and range.

- MELISSA EDDY JACK EWING

So it hardly bodes well for Tesla that sales in Norway have declined more than 12% so far this year. Sales in the first three months of the year were even worse in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

In fact, Tesla’s sales have been on a steady downward trend around the world. The company said on Wednesday that global sales in the first quarter fell 13% from a year earlier.

Tesla said that it delivered nearly 387,000 cars during the quarter (down from 423,000 in the first three months of 2023). The company’s said sales at a time when electric vehicle sales were rising around the world reflected a number of serious problems, not least a consumer backlash against the prominent role that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, is playing in the Trump administration.

Geir Rognein Elvin, an urban planner with the city of Oslo, bought his first Tesla in 2013, months after they were introduced in Norway. He has retained the company’s battery Gigafactory in Nevada. He met Mr. Musk when the executive was still mostly known for something to address climate change with electric cars and his rocket company, SpaceX.

But as Mr. Musk drifted to right-wing politics, Mr. Elvin’s enthusiasm waned. And he grew concerned about the company’s labor security policy.

Several months ago, he swapped his Tesla for a battery-powered cargo bike and a shared electric Volkswagen. “I would never drive a Tesla again,” he said. “It’s a question of ethics.”

Last year electrics accounted for nearly a quarter of car sales in Norway, far more than any other carmaker. But in the first two months of this year, Tesla slipped to third place behind Volkswagen and Toyota. Teslas made up just 11% of new cars sold, less than half of its market share a year earlier.

AN OMINOUS SIGN