Tesla is still navigating troubled waters in key markets overseas despite success in Norway and a record-breaking surge before electric vehicle tax credits in the U.S. expired in September.
What's happening?
Reuters reported that Tesla's UK car registrations dropped 19% in November, according to early data from research group New AutoMotive. The numbers suggest it is quickly losing ground to BYD, whose affordable EV models are increasingly popular in European markets.
Total new car registrations in Britain were down 6.3%, with registrations of battery-electric vehicles dipping 1.1%. Yet BYD registrations leaped by 229%.
Why is this important?
Tesla was once the undeniable tastemaker in the EV realm, sparking a wave of automotive development that made EVs more accessible for the average consumer. However, the company has shifted its focus to robotics and artificial intelligence as part of CEO Elon Musk's "Master Plan Part 4." That, along with a talent exodus, appears to have hampered EV innovation.
The company's last major model release, the Cybertruck, was in November 2023, and Musk surely envisioned things going differently. By March 2025, Tesla had recalled the electric truck eight times. That total hit double digits in October, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined its front lights could create a road hazard.
Tesla did release stripped-down, more affordable versions of its Model Y and Model 3 in select markets this year. Yet these uninspired offerings, along with Musk's polarizing politics and public persona, seem to be pushing many consumers in a different direction. Electrifying.com found that British motorists now have 150-plus EV models to choose from, according to Reuters.
What does this mean for Tesla?
Professor of business administration Michael Lenox told the University of Virginia's Darden Report that "there is a risk that Tesla will be the Blackberry of electric vehicles." The cult favorite device faded into obscurity in the early to mid-2000s as Apple and Android launched smartphones with touchscreens.
However, Lenox pointed out that many traditional automakers have only partially committed to EVs. He said that gives Tesla time to rediscover its creative energy and "turn things around."
Even though a range of less-than-glowing headlines spotlighted Tesla and Musk in 2025, a record number of consumers are ditching their gas-guzzlers for EVs, as they are more cost-effective to operate and don't spew asthma-linked pollution when on the road.
Tesla's shareholders also felt confident enough in the company's direction to approve Musk's $1 trillion pay package in November.
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