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Sales of Tesla’s electric vehicles plummeted 60 per cent in the UK last month amid a broader slump in European demand, with Chinese rival BYD surging.
There were 987 Tesla vehicles registered in July, compared with 2,462 in the same month last year, according to figures from the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The sharp drop marked a reversal from the 14 per cent year-on-year increase in June.
Tesla’s sales have declined in large European markets this year on the back of a consumer backlash to Musk’s political activism and increased competition from rivals including BYD, whose registrations in the UK rose more than fourfold year on year to 3,184 in July, according to SMMT.
In July, Tesla registrations also fell 86 per cent to 163 vehicles in Sweden, 27 per cent to 1,307 cars in France and 58 per cent to 460 vehicles in Belgium, according to official industry data.
The declines came despite the recent release of an upgraded version of its flagship Model Y sport utility vehicle.
Tesla disclosed in a filing on Monday that its board had approved a new pay package for chief executive Elon Musk. It said the award of 96mn shares was aimed at “energising and focusing” the billionaire chief on reviving the flagging carmaker.
Musk and Tesla have been fighting a shareholder lawsuit in Delaware for seven years over a previous $56bn pay award, the largest in US history.
Since the package was struck down in January 2024 by Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick — who ruled it was excessive — Musk has repeatedly threatened to leave Tesla and prioritise his other enterprises unless he is given more control.
The world’s richest man also runs SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink and the Boring company.
The decline in Tesla’s UK sales is happening amid a broader, albeit more modest, fall in car registrations, which were down 5 per cent year on year to 140,154 last month, according to SMMT.
The slowdown comes amid consumer uncertainty over which models would be eligible for the government’s new EV subsidy scheme.
On Tuesday, the government revealed that four Citroën EV models would be eligible for the £650mn grant, allowing consumers to save £1,500 when purchasing the vehicles. New registrations of Citroën fell 41 per cent in July.
New registrations at Fiat fell 43 per cent in July, while Honda declined 46 per cent, BMW 18 per cent and Toyota fell 23 per cent.
