Tesla Just Got News About Its Sales in Germany, and It Shows That Elon Musk Has Seriously Messed Up

Tesla sales in Germany dropped an astonishing 76 percent in February compared with last year.

That's extremely bad news for the electric vehicle maker on its own, but even more striking because of what it represents: that Germany, a major aggressor and perpetrator of genocidal horrors under the 20th century's Nazi regime, is turning its back on CEO Elon Musk after he performed two Sieg Heil salutes at Donald Trump's post-inuguration celebration and made tasteless Holocaust jokes on his social media platform.

As the New York Times reports, figures by the German Association of the Automotive Industry show that sales in the European nation have fallen for two months in a row, in a clear sign that Germans are increasingly fed up with Musk's embrace of far-right ideologies.

And who could blame them? Musk's support of Germany's highly divisive AfD political party has caused a major uproar in the country, with residents furious over the richest man in the world directly meddling with the country's February elections.

"Of course, as a Tesla driver you were always the fool: the Green party voter, the world saviour, the CO2 guy," Patrik Schneider, who leased a Tesla in Germany, told German outlet Capital.de earlier this year. "But now you’re in a category that’s no longer funny. Now you're suddenly in the corner with the right-wingers."

That anger is starting to spill over. Tesla dealerships have been hit with waves of protests and vandalism as current owners are appalled at the mere notion of being associated with Musk's tarnished image.

Schneider even cashed in on the trend and started selling a line of "Anti-Elon stickers."

Elsewhere in Europe, a similar story is playing out, with France noting a 26 percent drop in February compared to a year ago. Even in Norway, where almost all new cars being sold are electric, Tesla's market share is dropping precipitously.

"The brand has had a unique market position in Norway for several years," Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen told the NYT. "Whether this will continue remains to be seen, as there is a lot of turmoil and noise surrounding Tesla and Elon Musk."

Overall, Tesla sales plunged 45 percent across Europe in January, indicating a massive shift in consumer preferences.

While some of that could be chalked up to news that the carmaker is about to release a refreshed Model Y, as the NYT points out, analysts are still convinced that Musk's abhorrent behavior is in large part to blame.

Even in China, one of Tesla's most lucrative markets, sales dropped a whopping 49.2 percent in February compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Tesla's competitor BYD saw a massive 90.4 percent increase in sales over the same period.

Whether Musk, who has lately spent far more time plundering the US federal government with the help of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency than at Tesla, is intending for his EV maker to fall into oblivion remains to be seen.

Investors are expecting the worst, with the carmaker's shares dropping over 28 percent over the last month.

A meager attempt by Musk to pump the stock didn't fare well, either.

"It will require outstanding execution, but I think more like 1000% gain for Tesla in 5 years is possible," Musk tweeted at the start of the month, an easily dismissed fantasy that was met with shares sliding ten percent.

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