Sunita Somvanshi
As Tesla’s electric vehicles sit increasingly unsold in German showrooms, a controversial survey manipulation incident has further complicated the automaker’s already challenging position in Europe’s largest car market.
German Buyers Abandon Tesla in Record Numbers
Tesla’s registration numbers in Germany have fallen off a cliff:
- Sales plummeted 41% in 2024 compared to 2023
- The decline accelerated to 70% in the first two months of 2025
- February figures show a staggering 76% year-over-year registration collapse
What makes these figures particularly alarming is the overall German EV market growth of 27% during 2024, with non-Tesla electric vehicle registrations jumping 32% in February 2025. While Tesla’s sales dashboard flashes red, the broader German EV market continues expanding.
Survey Manipulation Scandal Unfolds
German publication T-Online conducted a consumer survey asking if Germans would consider buying a Tesla. The initial results were devastating:
- 94% of approximately 100,000 respondents would not consider a Tesla purchase
- Only 3% expressed willingness to consider the brand
Within days, something suspicious happened. The survey results dramatically flipped:
- Participant numbers surged 370%, reaching over 467,000
- The sentiment reversed to 70.1% claiming they would consider buying a Tesla
- T-Online’s investigation revealed 253,000 votes came from just two IP addresses in the United States
T-Online suspended the poll and explicitly stated: “This suggests that the survey may have been manipulated.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk added fuel to the controversy by sharing the manipulated results on his X platform before the manipulation was publicly exposed, claiming “70% of people in Germany would buy a Tesla again.”
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The Musk Factor: Political Activities Alienate German Buyers
Industry analysts directly connect Tesla’s German collapse to Elon Musk’s political activities that have particularly resonated in Germany:
- Public support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party
- Hosting a call with AfD supporters where he urged Germans to “move beyond” their “past guilt”
- Telling AfD backers that “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents” in an apparent reference to Germany’s Nazi history
- Making this call just two days before Holocaust Remembrance Day
- A gesture at Trump’s inauguration that many Germans interpreted as resembling a Nazi salute
- Responding to the Nazi salute controversy by sharing Nazi puns
- Sharing content suggesting historical atrocities were the work of “public sector workers”
Model Lineup Challenges Compound Political Problems
Beyond the political dimension, Tesla faces market-specific challenges:
- The changeover period for the Model Y has impacted availability and sales
- The aging Model 3 is experiencing falling demand as competitors offer alternatives
- The strong overall EV market growth indicates that consumer interest is shifting to competing models rather than away from electric mobility itself
Gigafactory Berlin Uncertainty
Tesla’s German manufacturing facility faces questions about its future amid the local sales collapse. While the source material doesn’t provide specific production numbers, it mentions “the potential risk to Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin given the souring local sentiment” as an important factor requiring further analysis.
Musk Addresses the Crisis
During an all-hands employee livestream, Musk attempted to downplay the situation:
“If you read the news it feels like, you know, Armageddon,” he acknowledged, adding, “Some people, it’s like, listen, I understand if you don’t wanna buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.”
He urged his detractors to “stop being psycho.”
Long-term Market Implications
Tesla’s German troubles represent more than a temporary setback. The source documents suggest that “addressing the underlying issues affecting consumer trust will be crucial for Tesla to regain its footing in Germany.”
The situation highlights how rapidly an EV manufacturer’s market position can erode when faced with the dual challenges of political controversy and increased competition. Whether Tesla can recover in Germany remains an open question, with significant implications for its broader European strategy.
This comprehensive analysis raises several important questions requiring further exploration:
- Which specific competitor models are gaining at Tesla’s expense?
- What impact is the German sales collapse having on Gigafactory Berlin’s production targets?
- How do German automotive experts assess Tesla’s recovery prospects?
- What longer-term implications might this have for Tesla’s European market position?
- Could similar political controversies affect Tesla in other markets?
As Tesla navigates this challenging terrain, the company’s ability to separate its brand from its CEO’s political activities may prove decisive for its future in the German market.
