Tesla sales fall 60% in Germany as owner Elon Musk continues to back far right AfD—’nobody wants to be associated with it’
Jerry
Tesla sales plunged in Germany last month, official data showed Wednesday, after billionaire owner Elon Musk waded into the country’s election campaign by vocally backing the far right.
Just 1,277 of the US firm’s electric cars were registered in Europe’s biggest auto market in January, down nearly 60 percent year-on-year, the KBA federal transport authority said.
Like other electric carmakers, Tesla has seen its sales fall in Germany over the past year after the government withdrew subsidies, and amid a broader slowdown in demand for EVs in Europe.
But the drop for Musk’s firm in January contrasted with a rebound in the broader electric car sector in the country.
Musk, a close adviser to US President Donald Trump, has sparked controversy by backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of the February 23 polls and repeatedly insulting the country’s political leaders.
Source: FORTUNE
