Yet again, Tesla sales stumbled by double-digits in May, marking the fifth monthly decline in a row. Meanwhile, the man appointed to run operations and sales in Europe and the U.S. has left the automaker, as has its head of human resources. Tesla has seen a flood of senior execs leave in recent months, including the head of its Optimus robot program. But it did manage to snag the former head of autonomy from GM’s now shuttered Cruise subsidiary.
A dozen Teslas were torched at a dealership in France.
Tesla sales tumbled by double-digits in Europe in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decline this year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA.
The downturn reflects both growing pressure from Chinese competitors and pushback from EV buyers reacting to the political swing to the far right by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Coincidentally or not, Omead Afshar, the executive overseeing both sales and operations in Europe and the United States, has left the carmaker. A close confidante and direct report to Musk, Afshar is just the latest in a growing line-up of senior level executives who’ve left Tesla in recent months.
Sales take another hit
The updated Tesla Model Y does not appear to be doing much to rebuild demand.
Tesla sales have been stumbling in all key markets this year, worsening the decline that began in 2024.
In Europe, demand dipped 27.9% in May, with sales off as much as 50% in some key countries, ACEA reported. Tesla’s EU market share, in turn, plunged from 1.8 to 1.2% for the month. Tesla’s European slump came even while overall EV sales rose 27.2% in May, noted Reuters.
The downturn marked the fifth consecutive monthly decline for Tesla and came at the same time the automaker suffered downturns in Europe and the U.S. While the automaker won’t release its own numbers for the second quarter until early July, registration data cited by S&P Global Mobility showed a month-by-month double-digit downturn in the American market. Meanwhile, deliveries of Chinese-made Tesla vehicles – including domestic sales and exports – fell 15% in May compared to a year earlier.
A perfect storm
BYD has now caught up to Tesla.
Tesla appears to be facing the classic “perfect storm.”
The automaker has received mixed reviews for updates made to its two key product lines, the Model 3 sedan and, more recently, the Model Y. Initial reports suggest the latter product has not generated the strong interest from consumers Tesla had expected.
Several factors appear to be at play. For one thing, there’s growing competition, both from traditional players like General Motors, Hyundai and Volkswagen, as well as from aggressive new Chinese EV manufacturers like BYD. Short for “Build Your Dreams,” it registered nearly as many vehicles in May as Tesla – which it beat out in April for the first time. All told, Chinese makers captured 5.9% of the European EV market last month, doubling its share year-over-year.
“Despite the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its car brands continue to post strong growth across Europe,” Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a statement.
Adding to Tesla’s headaches: a growing pushback to CEO Musk who served a major role in the Trump administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency and who has become an outspoken advocate of far right politics, backed by his social media site X. That has led to protests and boycotts all over the world in recent months.
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Revolving door
Omead Afshar caught himself outside a Tesla plant in this selfie.
Tesla has yet to clarify why Afshar has left the company. It no longer operates a media relations department and hasn’t responded to a request for comment from Headlight.News.
The exec has been described as both a “firefighter,” and “executioner” for Musk, noted Financial Times, and had served multiple senior roles, including Musk’s chief-of-staff, before being assigned to run operations and sales in both Europe and the U.S.
Rumors had been circulating about his departure for several days and Forbes published a report indicating he was personally fired by Musk.
It isn’t clear what happened to Jenna Ferrua, director of North American Human Resources, either. Sources indicate she has also left Tesla, the latest in a string of defection. Mid-level sales manager Matthew LeBrot was recently fired for criticizing Musk, reported Automotive News.
The market reacts
The program chief for the Optimus robot also left Tesla in June.
Earlier in June, Tesla suffered what some close to the company have billed as a “major loss,” Milan Kovac announcing in a post on X that he was ending his role as head of the Optimus humanoid robot program. That project was one of several – including the new Robotaxi service – Musk has billed as a key to the company’s future.
Other departures have included Rebecca Tinucci, the head of Tesla’s Supercharger operations, chief battery engineer Drew Baglino, and his deputy Vineet Mehta.
On the other hand, the automaker just hired Henry Kuang, the former “Head of Autonomy” for General Motors’ now-shuttered Cruise subsidiary.
After rebounding in May when Tesla CEO said he would leave Washington, Tesla shares have been tumbling in recent days under the weight of a string of bad news reports.
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