Tesla global backlash 'hits UK' as sales in Elon Musk's luxury electric cars plunge 62%

The drop was one of the biggest among brands, with only Fiat, Smart and Maserati seeing bigger declines.

The figures can be volatile and depend on a number of factors.

But Tesla sales fell in other European countries earlier this year after Elon Musk, boss of the electric car giant, waded into politics, including backing the Far-Right Alternative fur Deutschland in Germany.

He has also repeatedly attacked British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling on him to resign, and claiming there will be “civil war” in the UK due to its immigration and border policies.

Tesla sales, though, in Britain, did not show the clear and early decline as in some other countries in Europe and around the world.

But the 62 per cent slump in April is a stark figure.

Musk, who was appointed by Donald Trump to co-lead a Department of Government Efficiency, has taken the axe to large numbers of government jobs in the US in a cull which saw nuclear workers accidentally fired.

He has now vowed to ‘significantly’ cut back his role in the US government after Tesla reported a huge drop in sales and profits for the start of the year.

Tesla has denied it is seeking to replace Musk as the company’s chief executive.

In Washington, Musk is seen to have fallen out with some key figures around Trump whose tariff wars may also have hit Tesla sales.

Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 120,331 new cars were registered in the UK in April, down 10.4% compared to a year earlier.

That compares with 134,274 during the same month last year.

The SMMT attributed the decline to a number of factors, including changes to vehicle excise duty rules.

Electric vehicles lost their exemption to VED on April 1.

This caused many “shrewd” buyers to make their purchases before the deadline, the SMMT said.

The late timing of Easter this year also meant there were fewer working days in April compared with the same month in 2024, but other brands, including some electric vehicle manufacturers, saw big increases in sales.

Uptake of pure battery electric new cars grew by 8.1% in April, reaching a market share of 20.4%, up from 16.9% a year earlier.

Under the zero emission vehicle (Zev) mandate, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission, which generally means pure electric.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described the overall performance of the new car market in April as “disappointing but expected” after the 12.4% year-on-year growth in March when new registration plates were released.

He said: “Another month of growth for electric vehicle registrations is good news, however, even if demand remains well below ambition.”