Tesla sales have plummeted across the UK as Elon Musk's company faces stiff competition from rival brands, as more drivers transition to electric vehicles.
New data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that Tesla sold just 512 cars across the UK in April.
While this is worth 0.43 per cent of the total market share, it is a significant 62 per cent drop compared to last year, when 1,352 new cars were registered.
Only a handful of major brands sold less than Tesla in April, including Alfa Romeo (209), Bentley (71), Fiat (289), Jaguar (0), Smart (70) and Subaru (91).
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Elon Musk could face further periods of instability with the latest Tesla sales results
REUTERS
At the other end of the sales table, Volkswagen (10,474), Kia (8,320), BMW (8,086) and Audi (8,017) were the best-selling brands in April.
Chinese manufacturer BYD, the largest electric vehicle brand in the world, is Tesla's main competitor across the globe, and could soon come for its UK crown after registering 2,511 vehicles in April.
A slight silver lining for the Elon Musk-led brand is that all vehicles sold by Tesla are electric, meaning it has one of the largest surpluses of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate credits of any brand.
In the coming years, Tesla will be able to use this surplus of credits to sell to other manufacturers who may not have sold enough zero emission vehicles to meet the deadline.
BYD is one of the fastest-growing electric vehicle brands in the UK REUTERSBy the end of the year, manufacturers must ensure that at least 28 per cent of total car sales are electric, or they could face a fine of up to £12,000 per polluting vehicle.
The UK chapter of protest group Tesla Takedown stated that its campaigning was "working" and that the group was "winning" against Elon Musk's auto brand.
The group added: "The local election results show that the fight against fascism in the UK is only just beginning, and we'd like to build up our capacity to campaign."
The Tesla Takedown group has been protesting outside of showrooms, dealerships and pop-ups with signs slamming owner Elon Musk and his affiliation with right-wing political groups, and calling for a mass boycott of the vehicles.
Upcoming protests in the UK include London, Manchester, Leeds, Winchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Exeter.
The global protest movement was started in the United States in response to Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and his close working relationship with Republican President Donald Trump.
Since then, protests have spread around the world, although the movement has sparked condemnation for extreme actions. Some protesters have launched arson attacks against vehicles, Superchargers and dealerships.
This has prompted President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to slam these criminal actions as being committed by "domestic terrorists" who could now face 20 years of prison time.
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Activists have been calling for people to boycott Elon Musk's electric car brand Sales of new Tesla electric vehicles also plunged in other key European markets, including Germany, where just 885 new cars were registered.
Data from the German road traffic agency KBA shows a fourth straight month of decline, amounting to a cumulative year-to-date drop of more than 60 per cent.
