- The investigations carried out by caliber and T-online both show a sharp drop in favorite For Tesla among the Germans. Sales in the first two months of this year plunged 71% combined in the middle of the controversy over the AFD musk embrace as well as a planned production stop.
In a rich residential area in Berlin, four Tesla Vehicles burned at a crisp in the early morning on Friday after vandals unknown have burned them.
This last act of criminal fire to engulf the cars of the CEO Elon Musk now pays attention by a special commission for its probable political reason,according toat the city’s police service.
Symbolically, it is another blow to the complicated love story between Musk and a country that houses its only manufacturing plant in Europe, located less than an hour from crime scenes.
While the four burned cars are perhaps the most lively demonstration of the Germans who turn their backs, the surveys suggest that consumers in the greatest economy in Europe desert the brand on the embrace by Musk by President Donald Trump and the populist on the far right.
“The correlation with Musk’s behavior cannot be overlooked,” said Shahar Silbershatz, manager of the Danish research firm,saidThe main affairs of the country on a daily basisHandelsblatt.
His team questions the Germans in his opinion on Tesla for months. In August, shortly after Musk approved Trump, 31% planned to buy a Tesla as their next car.
This fell at only 16% in January in the middle of the inauguration of Trump and the scandal around Raide gesture of musk This caused comparisons with a Nazi salute. February, however, showed a slight rebound at 20%, according to the newspaper on Monday.
After a catastrophic January and February, March should see an improvement
It is still much more positive than an informal survey of T-online last week This asked the Germans if they would buy a Tesla. More than 94% replied “no” while only 3% said they would still do it.
Although it was not carried out with the usual rigor, a professional survey company as a caliber and therefore not statistically representative, it was remarkable for the fact that a record number participated, with around 100,000 vote via the website.
Direction, which suggests that the brand loses ground in Germany, which is tied with the United Kingdom as the largest European European market with around 380,000 vehicles sold last year.
The latest sales data support it. In January the New Teslas registrations Much 60%a descent that accelerated at 76% in February.
Part of this is due toChange compared to the original model yBy far the brand’s bestseller, with a slightly more recent version that made its debut this month. In the process, the Tesla factory outside Berlin stopped for a period to prepare the mounting chain.
Some customers will also have reported a purchase in order to wait for the refreshment, so that the March results will most likely see a strong improvement compared to the steep dive observed during the first two months.
Images of Musk’s controversial salvation can fall away from German laws
The management of recent surveys suggests that Tesla will find it difficult to recover the lost market share given the growing number of models of competitors. A band of Germans is furious by his unsuccessful attempt at Install the extreme right in power During the elections of last month.
It is a remarkable fall in grace for the Musk entrepreneur, who made a big bet in the choice of Germany at high salary for the site of his third vehicle factory.
When the country’s car manufacturers have preferred the creation of new manufacturing factories in countries like Hungary to capitalize on the lower labor costs in Eastern Europe, Musk has invested billions to build its site on a plot of land on the outskirts of Berlin.
The often high level of Germany to bureaucracy– Including complete printing on tens of thousands of pages of authorization requests for the holding of records –did not discourage him. The opposition of certain groups also did not protest against the impact of the factory on the local water supply.
However, the Tesla factory, which has contributed significantly to the differently weak economy of the region, has become a symbol of musk, and not only of the company. Last month, he served as a backdrop for a demonstration with an image of the rigid arm salvation of the CEO projected on the building alongside the words “Heil, Tesla”.
Salvation is strictly prohibited in Germany. Even the image itself as a political declaration against Musk could potentially Falling down local laws.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
