SCHADENFREUDE

Tesla Gets Dire Sales Report From Country Where EV Purchases Are Up

Chinese EV manufacturer BYD is reaping the benefits of the backlash against Elon Musk.

The good news for Elon Musk is that there is huge demand for electric cars in Germany. The bad news is that no one wants to buy Teslas in the country that has consistently been Europe’s largest car market. Sales of Musk’s Tesla cars have fallen for the fifth month in a row in Germany, reported The New York Times. This slump in sales occurred during the period when the tech billionaire gave an alleged Nazi salute on stage during a January event celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration and threw his support behind the Germany’s far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Musk has recently attempted to brush off Tesla’s slump in sales in Europe—with similar drops recorded in Sweden, France and Spain in recent months—as a sign of “weak” demand for electric vehicles on the continent. However, The Times notes that in Germany, sales of battery-powered cars increased by nearly 45 percent last month. To rub salt in the wound, BYD, the Chinese company which is considered Musk’s main rival in the electrical vehicle market, has seen its sales in Germany increase by ninefold.