Tesla is much more reliant on Musk than Apple was on Jobs

Tesla is starting to look like an EV which has run out of charge in the middle of a motorway. Help! Call the AA! Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker has reported its fifth consecutive monthly decline in sales across Europe, per ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

- James Moore, The Independent

This comes at a time when the trade body's figures show EVs are on the charge (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) across the EU, with new registrations rising by more than a quarter (26.1 per cent) year to date and a still robust 25 per cent in May. Including the UK and other non-EU nations, Europe-wide sales of battery-powered vehicles rose by 27.2 per cent in May and 27.8 per cent year to date.

By contrast, Tesla's sales have been zapped. Year to date, new EU registrations fell by 45.2 per cent over five months and by 40.5 per cent in May. Europe-wide, those figures were 37.1 per cent and 27.9 per cent respectively. Slumping sales in a rising market? Not a good look. I once wrote that Elon Musk's baby was the Audi, BMW or Mercedes of the EV world. The status car. The “Look at me, I have a Tesla” symbol for people with money. How times change. Yes, yes, we've heard about the need to freshen up Tesla's dated models and the cheapie rivals coming out of China, which pose a very real threat. But the high-profile CEO's divisiveness has also poured toxic sludge over the Tesla logo. There have even been incidents of Teslas being vandalised. That is contemptible. Angry about what he's said and done? Far better to hit him in the pocket, which is what more sensible Europeans appear to be doing by abandoning the brand in droves.