5 ms·

Tesla is done in Germany: 94% say they won't buy a Tesla car

96 points by madspindel 2y ago

anovikov 2y ago
Now electric car transition there is done, too: they won't buy Teslas, but Chinese electric cars are banned, and European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck. All hope is for "european" cars made by Chinese brands that are "reassembled" (sometimes by doing as little as bolting the wheels on) from "kits" coming from China. Like Volvo. They are actually decent and may be better than Teslas.
- dgellow 2y ago
  Chinese electric cars aren’t banned, they are tariffed
  - blitzar 2y ago
    Big beautiful tariffs, many say they are the finest tariffs they have ever seen.
    - rwoerz 2y ago
      And then God spoke to me: "Sir, you have the greatest and most beautiful tariffs." And I said: "Yes, beautiful and great. Like the son I never had."
  - tpm 2y ago
    And also chinese cars that are put together in european factories are not loaded with tariffs, so they are starting to do that. I think Leapmotor in a Fiat factory in Poland is first?
  - postepowanieadm 2y ago
    That's why Tesla has a factory in Germany. To avoid tariffs.
    - mytailorisrich 2y ago
      Tesla is/was the largest importer of Chinese-made cars into Europe. That's why the EU tariffs are decided brand by brand (to spare Tesla and BMW mostly)
    - littlestymaar 2y ago
      Tesla was given favorable tariffs terms by the European commission, even fro vehicles made in China, but who know how long that will last with Musk insulting them daily.
- formerly_proven 2y ago
  > European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck Nice 2019 talking point, bud.
- dash2 2y ago
  Mercedes is planning a Tesla competitor: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/mercedes-cla-electric-vehicle.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/mercedes-cla-ele...
- skylurk 2y ago
  By suck, are you referring to the budget low-range city car EVs?
- rockyj 2y ago
  > European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck Not true by any means. There are multiple options available and new cars are being planned / released all the time. Not to mention the second-hand market has ample choice.
- bl0rg 2y ago
  Volvo is designed/engineered in Sweden and has a global production network with factories in Sweden, Belgium, the US, and China. You're massively oversimplifying.
- D_Alex 2y ago
  >Now electric car transition there is done, too And right after that, the fight against climate change will be lost. Electric cars could have been the enabling technology for intermittent renewable power generation. Smart charging and back-feeding into the grid when needed could have largely solved the intermittency problem.
- jsemrau 2y ago
  No they are not. Here is an example how you can buy a NIO in Germany https://www.nio.com/de_DE/get-your-nio/kauf https://www.nio.com/de_DE/get-your-nio/kauf EV is on a decline in general after the end of government subsidies And Germany is still dominated by local brands. https://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2024-full-year-germany-best-selling-electric-cars-by-brand-and-model/ https://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2024-full-year-ger...
- mpweiher 2y ago
  In February 2025 electric car sales in Germany were up 30% year on year, whereas total sales were down 6% https://www.adac.de/news/neuzulassungen-kba/ https://www.adac.de/news/neuzulassungen-kba/ (This link is not dated, so contents will change in the future, the archive.org link is not up to February yet) Top 10 electric cars (again February 2025): 1. VW ID.7 2. VW ID.4, ID.5 3. VW ID.3 4. Skoda Enyaq 5. Audi Q4 6. Seat Born 7. Tesla Model Y 8. BMW 4ER 9. BMW X1 10. Seat Tavascan So the top 6 are all Volkswagen. And in total 7 of the top 10.
- copx 2y ago
  >Now electric car transition there is done It is not. Only 18% of newly registered cars are electric i.e. over 80% of the people are still buying new CE cars, to say nothing about the massive used car market which is almost completely CE.
  - littlestymaar 2y ago
    I think you're misunderstanding “done” in the sense of “completed” when they meant “done” to say “dead”. Or maybe I am the one getting it backwards…
- Retric 2y ago
  European, Japanese, and South Korean automakers haven’t achieved the economies of scale drive down EV prices, but they are getting better quickly. Tesla meanwhile has been stagnant for a while, which means people who wanted that that kind of car likely already bought one and don’t see much reason to buy a new one. The poor publicity from Elon isn’t helping but they peaked in 2023 even as total EV sales grew substantially in 2024.
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  Betting on the inability of German automakers to make cars isn't something I'd do, personally, but OK.
- roca 2y ago
  Musk's rightward lurch will be good for the electric car transition. His ideological opponents are just switching to other EV vendors. His ideological friends would normally not have considered buying an electric car, because anthropogenic climate change is a socialist hoax or something, but Trump is instructing them to buy Teslas as a sign of solidarity.
  - zfg 2y ago
    All Musk has done is damage Tesla sales. It turns out fascist salutes don't help you sell cars.
- atombender 2y ago
  I disagree that European EVs aren't good. The Volkswagen range (ID.3, ID.4, the ID.Buzz van) is excellent. Of all the EVs I've driven, the ID.3 is my favorite, far superior to a Tesla. I've driven rented EVs from Skoda, Opel, SEAT, Peugeot, etc., and they're all fine, if boring. If you count any brand available in Europe, Hyundai and Kia both have excellent EVs, including the Kia EV6 and EV9. Tesla have definitely nailed certain things that other manufacturers have struggled with. They're the only manufacturer that does a good UI (but like many others I deeply dislike that everything is on a poorly positioned screen), and their integration is excellent (things like automatic navigation to a supercharger when it knows it will need to charge to get to your destination). Tesla have also strived for more practical ranges; I find it really frustrating when other manufacturers launch new cars with 300-350km ranges, which is a step backwards.
  - xiphias2 2y ago
    I love my Porsche Taycan as well (even if its resale price is dropping like crazy and sales are down), but whenever I travel outside Europe/USA in LATAM, I only see 1 brand: BYD. The main differentiator why people will switch to EVs is price, and Tesla seems to have stopped competing on it and is bettin on full autonomy instead (which is not a bad bet, as Waymo is achieving it slowly).
- microtonal 2y ago
  We bought our first electric car last summer, we got an VW ID.3 and... we like it a lot. The pricing was pretty good, not much more expensive than a comparable VW combustion car. Apparently the infotainment system was quite bad/slow in older generations, but they fixed that in one of the upgrades and the on in ours is fast and works well. We couldn't be more happy with the purchase.
- OfficeChad 2y ago
  [dead]
needcontainers 2y ago
The article states that T-Online, a German news outlet, polled 100,000 readers, with 94% rejecting Tesla and only 3% considering a purchase. While the sample size is unusually large for a survey, the methodology isn’t detailed in the article. Online reader polls, like those often conducted by news sites, are typically self-selecting—participants choose to respond rather than being randomly sampled. This introduces significant bias, as those motivated to participate may already hold strong opinions, especially given Musk’s polarizing public image. Without information on how the survey was conducted (e.g., random sampling, controls for bias), its scientific validity is questionable.
- simion314 2y ago
  Sales number are not good in germany either, but I know Elon fans have an excuse for this too. Anyway is clear that even if this numbers are not correct Tesla's image is fcked, now buying a Tesla is giving money to a nazi and an enemy (on top of the other Elon's "qualities")
  - rendall 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - jazzyjackson 2y ago
      https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sea-lioning https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sea-lioning
    - t1E9mE7JTRjf 2y ago
      sadly it's becoming reddit here, subjectivity indistinguishable from objectivity
      - rendall 2y ago
        My very mild question got flagged.
Findecanor 2y ago
Official sales figures have plummeted here in Sweden as well. I'm not surprised.
ineedaj0b 2y ago
[flagged]
formerly_proven 2y ago
94% comes from a non-representative online poll, but Tesla sales already about halved in 2024 and the first months of 2025 saw another halving to 70+% reduction YoY. So it's certainly quite bad. But I also wonder, with germany being a very SUV-centric market, if this has something to do with the tesla SUVs (X and Y) just being uniquely butt-ugly. If you have working eyes, there are just so many options which look much nicer these days, and unlike ten years ago there is no big performance gap.
- chneu 2y ago
  It has to do with other companies catching up and surpassing Tesla. Tesla's are a bad deal nowadays because of build quality and the company slashing prices(which kills resale value). Has tesla refreshed their lineup yet? Plus the whole CEO is a psycho nazi thing. edit: yeah, there's an article over on the verge talking aout how used tesla prices are plummeting because everyone wants to ditch their teslas. It's probably a decent time to buy a cheap tesla.
mk89 2y ago
With more and more alternatives available, not sure why someone would in general buy a Tesla, at least here in Europe. They are very expensive and apparently not high quality as one would be expecting for that price. Add all the political "things" happening in the last months and that VW, BMW etc are waking up and you'll get a high number of people not wanting to buy a Tesla anymore. Probably not 94% but I think it's pretty close.
- chupy 2y ago
  What alternatives in Europe? My wife had to buy a car last year, wanted to buy electric and Tesla was the only one that was ready to deliver within a month and at a decent price per features. Don't care about Elon but in the end all these corporations building the cars are on the same level of general disregard for the population or environment and just chasing profits. Doubt there is a real ethical choice when buying a car nowadays
  - mk89 2y ago
    Not sure how reliable this is but in line with what you said. https://www.carwow.de/ratgeber/elektroauto/lieferzeiten-elektroautos https://www.carwow.de/ratgeber/elektroauto/lieferzeiten-elek... If you can't wait 2-6 months, I agree Tesla is not a bad option.
youngtaff 2y ago
[flagged]
numpad0 2y ago
So that's why there is a hydrogen bus story on the top page right now...
hello_computer 2y ago
It is ridiculous that it took politics and a trade war to get people to finally stop buying overpriced windows update control-grid pedestrian-mowers that take anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours to re-fuel. People are so hooked on their status symbols. He could have made underwear that randomly tazes your balls, and if he charged enough for it, and sold it in cute & seamless packaging, people would buy it! That's kind of the point of status symbols, isn't it? I have tattoos on my face, but still make more than your doctor. I bought an imported car that's in the shop half the time, but that's just an opportunity to drive one of my other imported cars. I wear underwear that zaps my jimmies every now and again, but... you get the picture.
secondary_op 2y ago
observe how EU is brewing another global humanitarian crisis, war or just idiocracy.
mleroy 2y ago
It seems clear by now that the Tesla brand has completely fallen out of favor with the progressive, high-earning, status-conscious demographic in Germany (their main buyer group). While there are tentative trends toward avoiding US products in general, I see little potential for this becoming widespread. Few people are actually boycotting Apple or Coca-Cola, and most continue to make a clear distinction between the American people and culture (which they consider close friends) versus the current US administration. I wonder how this compares to markets like Canada or Denmark? Are other brands facing similar challenges in those countries as well?
- fifilura 2y ago
  Maybe not exactly the same thing, but obviously the arms industry is going to face some challenges because of the new American foreign policies. Maybe they will be offset by general increase in arms production, but Europe has alternatives to most of the weapons they currently buy from USA (including strategic air defense). They just need to scale up production. https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-rules-out-buying-f-35s-because-of-trump/ https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-rules-out-buying-f-...
- breenmask 2y ago
  [dead]
LeonM 2y ago
Teslas have been very popular in the Netherlands, and by far the best selling cars (Model 3 as of 2019 [0], Model Y in 2023 [1] and 2024 [2]), but sales have been declining for a while now. Though I'm not under the impressions that this has anything to do with Musk's recent actions, in my observation it's just that other car options have become available. Tesla became very popular because EVs were heavily subsidised and Tesla was the only good EV option for quite a few years. Other manufacturers either didn't have EVs, or they were very impractical, awkward and ugly. European manufacturers eventually woke up and started introducing EVs, and although they are a common sight on the street now (BMW, VW and Porsche in particular) they are still rather expensive, so Tesla remained popular for a while. But in recent year Korean (Kia, Hyundai) and Chinese (BYD, NIO, etc.) manufactured cars have matured a lot. Their designs have improved considerable to a point where my friends, who consider themselves hardcore car guys, actually like them. Now a new Kia or BYD (heck, even Hongqi) is becoming well accepted and seem on-par in social status as a Tesla. So this is purely anecdotal, but in my social circles at least nobody seems to consider Musk's actions in choosing a new car, it's just that other options have become available. [0] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2019/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2019/ [1] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2023/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2023/ [2] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2024/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2024/
- belter 2y ago
  "Nearly a third of Elon Musk’s EV-loving Dutch customers may sell their Teslas: ‘There’s been a debate in the Netherlands around Tesla shame’" - https://www.yahoo.com/news/nearly-third-elon-musk-ev-101700706.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/nearly-third-elon-musk-ev-1017007...
GuestFAUniverse 2y ago
"...a couple of Seig Heil..." -- that's not even a thing. It's "Sieg Heil". I've yet to read German articles doing so many errors when using or quoting foreign languages. Doesn't change the general quality of any article, but it bothers me, that English speaking journalists seem so outright ignorant when it comes basic proof reading -- names, locations, basic phrased,... often ridiculously botched.
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  Entspann Dich, and seek hail ;> That's good zum Abkühlen from all the trolling with which they piesack all our indoctrinated sensivities, or maybe one should say DOS(denial of service), because that shit is not only forbidden by law, but mandated to be BESTRAFT with utmost prejudice!
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
2-3-7-43-1807 2y ago
there are many reasons why i wouldn't buy a tesla - none is of political nature.
BonoboIO 2y ago
Why is this flagged?
- ddxv 2y ago
  There is always the answer "some users" found it too political, or not technical related and down voted. Maybe because YCombinator has a certain user base that skews towards being pro Tesla. I don't know how many bots are running here. Either way, negative Tesla articles are usually "flagged" within a few hours.
CaffeineLD50 2y ago
19% of Germans see AfD "favorably" according to Pew Research. Even they don't want a Tesla?
breenmask 2y ago
[dead]

96 points by madspindel 2y ago

Now electric car transition there is done, too: they won't buy Teslas, but Chinese electric cars are banned, and European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck. All hope is for "european" cars made by Chinese brands that are "reassembled" (sometimes by doing as little as bolting the wheels on) from "kits" coming from China. Like Volvo. They are actually decent and may be better than Teslas.

dgellow 2y ago
Chinese electric cars aren’t banned, they are tariffed
- blitzar 2y ago
  Big beautiful tariffs, many say they are the finest tariffs they have ever seen.
  - rwoerz 2y ago
    And then God spoke to me: "Sir, you have the greatest and most beautiful tariffs." And I said: "Yes, beautiful and great. Like the son I never had."
- tpm 2y ago
  And also chinese cars that are put together in european factories are not loaded with tariffs, so they are starting to do that. I think Leapmotor in a Fiat factory in Poland is first?
- postepowanieadm 2y ago
  That's why Tesla has a factory in Germany. To avoid tariffs.
  - mytailorisrich 2y ago
    Tesla is/was the largest importer of Chinese-made cars into Europe. That's why the EU tariffs are decided brand by brand (to spare Tesla and BMW mostly)
  - littlestymaar 2y ago
    Tesla was given favorable tariffs terms by the European commission, even fro vehicles made in China, but who know how long that will last with Musk insulting them daily.
formerly_proven 2y ago
> European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck Nice 2019 talking point, bud.
dash2 2y ago
Mercedes is planning a Tesla competitor: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/mercedes-cla-electric-vehicle.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/mercedes-cla-ele...
skylurk 2y ago
By suck, are you referring to the budget low-range city car EVs?
rockyj 2y ago
> European one are incredibly expensive, lose money to their makers, and just plain suck Not true by any means. There are multiple options available and new cars are being planned / released all the time. Not to mention the second-hand market has ample choice.
bl0rg 2y ago
Volvo is designed/engineered in Sweden and has a global production network with factories in Sweden, Belgium, the US, and China. You're massively oversimplifying.
D_Alex 2y ago
>Now electric car transition there is done, too And right after that, the fight against climate change will be lost. Electric cars could have been the enabling technology for intermittent renewable power generation. Smart charging and back-feeding into the grid when needed could have largely solved the intermittency problem.
jsemrau 2y ago
No they are not. Here is an example how you can buy a NIO in Germany https://www.nio.com/de_DE/get-your-nio/kauf https://www.nio.com/de_DE/get-your-nio/kauf EV is on a decline in general after the end of government subsidies And Germany is still dominated by local brands. https://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2024-full-year-germany-best-selling-electric-cars-by-brand-and-model/ https://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2024-full-year-ger...
mpweiher 2y ago
In February 2025 electric car sales in Germany were up 30% year on year, whereas total sales were down 6% https://www.adac.de/news/neuzulassungen-kba/ https://www.adac.de/news/neuzulassungen-kba/ (This link is not dated, so contents will change in the future, the archive.org link is not up to February yet) Top 10 electric cars (again February 2025): 1. VW ID.7 2. VW ID.4, ID.5 3. VW ID.3 4. Skoda Enyaq 5. Audi Q4 6. Seat Born 7. Tesla Model Y 8. BMW 4ER 9. BMW X1 10. Seat Tavascan So the top 6 are all Volkswagen. And in total 7 of the top 10.
copx 2y ago
>Now electric car transition there is done It is not. Only 18% of newly registered cars are electric i.e. over 80% of the people are still buying new CE cars, to say nothing about the massive used car market which is almost completely CE.
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  I think you're misunderstanding “done” in the sense of “completed” when they meant “done” to say “dead”. Or maybe I am the one getting it backwards…
Retric 2y ago
European, Japanese, and South Korean automakers haven’t achieved the economies of scale drive down EV prices, but they are getting better quickly. Tesla meanwhile has been stagnant for a while, which means people who wanted that that kind of car likely already bought one and don’t see much reason to buy a new one. The poor publicity from Elon isn’t helping but they peaked in 2023 even as total EV sales grew substantially in 2024.
littlestymaar 2y ago
Betting on the inability of German automakers to make cars isn't something I'd do, personally, but OK.
roca 2y ago
Musk's rightward lurch will be good for the electric car transition. His ideological opponents are just switching to other EV vendors. His ideological friends would normally not have considered buying an electric car, because anthropogenic climate change is a socialist hoax or something, but Trump is instructing them to buy Teslas as a sign of solidarity.
- zfg 2y ago
  All Musk has done is damage Tesla sales. It turns out fascist salutes don't help you sell cars.
atombender 2y ago
I disagree that European EVs aren't good. The Volkswagen range (ID.3, ID.4, the ID.Buzz van) is excellent. Of all the EVs I've driven, the ID.3 is my favorite, far superior to a Tesla. I've driven rented EVs from Skoda, Opel, SEAT, Peugeot, etc., and they're all fine, if boring. If you count any brand available in Europe, Hyundai and Kia both have excellent EVs, including the Kia EV6 and EV9. Tesla have definitely nailed certain things that other manufacturers have struggled with. They're the only manufacturer that does a good UI (but like many others I deeply dislike that everything is on a poorly positioned screen), and their integration is excellent (things like automatic navigation to a supercharger when it knows it will need to charge to get to your destination). Tesla have also strived for more practical ranges; I find it really frustrating when other manufacturers launch new cars with 300-350km ranges, which is a step backwards.
- xiphias2 2y ago
  I love my Porsche Taycan as well (even if its resale price is dropping like crazy and sales are down), but whenever I travel outside Europe/USA in LATAM, I only see 1 brand: BYD. The main differentiator why people will switch to EVs is price, and Tesla seems to have stopped competing on it and is bettin on full autonomy instead (which is not a bad bet, as Waymo is achieving it slowly).
microtonal 2y ago
We bought our first electric car last summer, we got an VW ID.3 and... we like it a lot. The pricing was pretty good, not much more expensive than a comparable VW combustion car. Apparently the infotainment system was quite bad/slow in older generations, but they fixed that in one of the upgrades and the on in ours is fast and works well. We couldn't be more happy with the purchase.
OfficeChad 2y ago
[dead]

needcontainers 2y ago

The article states that T-Online, a German news outlet, polled 100,000 readers, with 94% rejecting Tesla and only 3% considering a purchase. While the sample size is unusually large for a survey, the methodology isn’t detailed in the article. Online reader polls, like those often conducted by news sites, are typically self-selecting—participants choose to respond rather than being randomly sampled. This introduces significant bias, as those motivated to participate may already hold strong opinions, especially given Musk’s polarizing public image. Without information on how the survey was conducted (e.g., random sampling, controls for bias), its scientific validity is questionable.

simion314 2y ago
Sales number are not good in germany either, but I know Elon fans have an excuse for this too. Anyway is clear that even if this numbers are not correct Tesla's image is fcked, now buying a Tesla is giving money to a nazi and an enemy (on top of the other Elon's "qualities")
- rendall 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - jazzyjackson 2y ago
    https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sea-lioning https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sea-lioning
  - t1E9mE7JTRjf 2y ago
    sadly it's becoming reddit here, subjectivity indistinguishable from objectivity
    - rendall 2y ago
      My very mild question got flagged.

Findecanor 2y ago

Official sales figures have plummeted here in Sweden as well. I'm not surprised.

ineedaj0b 2y ago

[flagged]

formerly_proven 2y ago

94% comes from a non-representative online poll, but Tesla sales already about halved in 2024 and the first months of 2025 saw another halving to 70+% reduction YoY. So it's certainly quite bad. But I also wonder, with germany being a very SUV-centric market, if this has something to do with the tesla SUVs (X and Y) just being uniquely butt-ugly. If you have working eyes, there are just so many options which look much nicer these days, and unlike ten years ago there is no big performance gap.

chneu 2y ago
It has to do with other companies catching up and surpassing Tesla. Tesla's are a bad deal nowadays because of build quality and the company slashing prices(which kills resale value). Has tesla refreshed their lineup yet? Plus the whole CEO is a psycho nazi thing. edit: yeah, there's an article over on the verge talking aout how used tesla prices are plummeting because everyone wants to ditch their teslas. It's probably a decent time to buy a cheap tesla.

mk89 2y ago

With more and more alternatives available, not sure why someone would in general buy a Tesla, at least here in Europe. They are very expensive and apparently not high quality as one would be expecting for that price. Add all the political "things" happening in the last months and that VW, BMW etc are waking up and you'll get a high number of people not wanting to buy a Tesla anymore. Probably not 94% but I think it's pretty close.

chupy 2y ago
What alternatives in Europe? My wife had to buy a car last year, wanted to buy electric and Tesla was the only one that was ready to deliver within a month and at a decent price per features. Don't care about Elon but in the end all these corporations building the cars are on the same level of general disregard for the population or environment and just chasing profits. Doubt there is a real ethical choice when buying a car nowadays
- mk89 2y ago
  Not sure how reliable this is but in line with what you said. https://www.carwow.de/ratgeber/elektroauto/lieferzeiten-elektroautos https://www.carwow.de/ratgeber/elektroauto/lieferzeiten-elek... If you can't wait 2-6 months, I agree Tesla is not a bad option.

youngtaff 2y ago

[flagged]

numpad0 2y ago

So that's why there is a hydrogen bus story on the top page right now...

hello_computer 2y ago

It is ridiculous that it took politics and a trade war to get people to finally stop buying overpriced windows update control-grid pedestrian-mowers that take anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours to re-fuel. People are so hooked on their status symbols. He could have made underwear that randomly tazes your balls, and if he charged enough for it, and sold it in cute & seamless packaging, people would buy it! That's kind of the point of status symbols, isn't it? I have tattoos on my face, but still make more than your doctor. I bought an imported car that's in the shop half the time, but that's just an opportunity to drive one of my other imported cars. I wear underwear that zaps my jimmies every now and again, but... you get the picture.

secondary_op 2y ago

observe how EU is brewing another global humanitarian crisis, war or just idiocracy.

mleroy 2y ago

It seems clear by now that the Tesla brand has completely fallen out of favor with the progressive, high-earning, status-conscious demographic in Germany (their main buyer group). While there are tentative trends toward avoiding US products in general, I see little potential for this becoming widespread. Few people are actually boycotting Apple or Coca-Cola, and most continue to make a clear distinction between the American people and culture (which they consider close friends) versus the current US administration. I wonder how this compares to markets like Canada or Denmark? Are other brands facing similar challenges in those countries as well?

fifilura 2y ago
Maybe not exactly the same thing, but obviously the arms industry is going to face some challenges because of the new American foreign policies. Maybe they will be offset by general increase in arms production, but Europe has alternatives to most of the weapons they currently buy from USA (including strategic air defense). They just need to scale up production. https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-rules-out-buying-f-35s-because-of-trump/ https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-rules-out-buying-f-...
breenmask 2y ago
[dead]

LeonM 2y ago

Teslas have been very popular in the Netherlands, and by far the best selling cars (Model 3 as of 2019 [0], Model Y in 2023 [1] and 2024 [2]), but sales have been declining for a while now. Though I'm not under the impressions that this has anything to do with Musk's recent actions, in my observation it's just that other car options have become available. Tesla became very popular because EVs were heavily subsidised and Tesla was the only good EV option for quite a few years. Other manufacturers either didn't have EVs, or they were very impractical, awkward and ugly. European manufacturers eventually woke up and started introducing EVs, and although they are a common sight on the street now (BMW, VW and Porsche in particular) they are still rather expensive, so Tesla remained popular for a while. But in recent year Korean (Kia, Hyundai) and Chinese (BYD, NIO, etc.) manufactured cars have matured a lot. Their designs have improved considerable to a point where my friends, who consider themselves hardcore car guys, actually like them. Now a new Kia or BYD (heck, even Hongqi) is becoming well accepted and seem on-par in social status as a Tesla. So this is purely anecdotal, but in my social circles at least nobody seems to consider Musk's actions in choosing a new car, it's just that other options have become available. [0] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2019/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2019/ [1] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2023/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2023/ [2] https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2024/ https://www.autoweek.nl/verkoopcijfers/2024/

belter 2y ago
"Nearly a third of Elon Musk’s EV-loving Dutch customers may sell their Teslas: ‘There’s been a debate in the Netherlands around Tesla shame’" - https://www.yahoo.com/news/nearly-third-elon-musk-ev-101700706.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/nearly-third-elon-musk-ev-1017007...

GuestFAUniverse 2y ago

"...a couple of Seig Heil..." -- that's not even a thing. It's "Sieg Heil". I've yet to read German articles doing so many errors when using or quoting foreign languages. Doesn't change the general quality of any article, but it bothers me, that English speaking journalists seem so outright ignorant when it comes basic proof reading -- names, locations, basic phrased,... often ridiculously botched.

LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
Entspann Dich, and seek hail ;> That's good zum Abkühlen from all the trolling with which they piesack all our indoctrinated sensivities, or maybe one should say DOS(denial of service), because that shit is not only forbidden by law, but mandated to be BESTRAFT with utmost prejudice!

deleted 2y ago

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2-3-7-43-1807 2y ago

there are many reasons why i wouldn't buy a tesla - none is of political nature.

BonoboIO 2y ago

Why is this flagged?

ddxv 2y ago
There is always the answer "some users" found it too political, or not technical related and down voted. Maybe because YCombinator has a certain user base that skews towards being pro Tesla. I don't know how many bots are running here. Either way, negative Tesla articles are usually "flagged" within a few hours.

CaffeineLD50 2y ago

19% of Germans see AfD "favorably" according to Pew Research. Even they don't want a Tesla?

breenmask 2y ago

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