Tesla car sales in Europe are in a slump as electronic cars well on the continent. Some see a connection to Tesla owner Elon Musk's alliance with US President Donald Trump and their shared support for nationalist parties across Europe.
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00:00A protest against Donald Trump, but also against Tesla.
00:05The company's CEO has thrown his weight behind the American president and far-right parties.
00:11That's turned owning a Tesla into a political statement, and not just here in Silicon Valley.
00:21Ralf Heckels has been driving a Tesla for years.
00:24The engineer from Leipzig in Germany bought the electric vehicle
00:28because he was impressed by its technology at the time.
00:31And he says that doesn't change just because Elon Musk is now in politics.
00:39125,000 employees work at Tesla, including many capable engineers,
00:45and of course business partners who are now seeing their investments slipping away.
00:50I do believe that this company will find its way again.
00:53I also find it unfortunate that people are turning their backs on a technology.
00:58But the number of those who no longer want to support Elon Musk by buying a Tesla is growing,
01:04including in the biggest European auto market in Germany.
01:08New vehicle registrations for Teslas have tumbled.
01:11In February, they fell 76 percent on the month.
01:15Not too far from Berlin, at the Giga factory in GrĂĽnheide,
01:19workers are increasingly worried about their jobs.
01:22It's not just car buyers turning their back on Tesla, but investors too.
01:27The share price has tumbled, and the reputation of the EV maker could be damaged for years.
01:34I think there's always a rational part in the purchase decision of a car,
01:39which means that we want to look at the range and we want to have a look at the technical specificities.
01:44But then there's also the more subjective emotional part.
01:48And this is also very important.
01:50And obviously at the moment you have quite a number of people who would not be very satisfied
01:55with what Elon Musk is doing.
01:58Tesla driver Ralf Heckel says he's hoping Elon Musk returns to doing what he does best as quickly as possible.
02:08If Elon were here, we'd first have a beer together.
02:12I'd shake his hand and say to him, you've done well so far, but now get back on track.
02:17You're not a politician, so go back to your roots again.
02:20He'll understand he's messing up at the moment.
02:23You can see it in the quarterly figures or the daily sales numbers.
02:27I hope he understands the reasons and can draw the right conclusions.
02:34In the meantime, Tesla has reportedly warned US President Trump
02:38that it's set to be hit hard by the impact of tariffs.
02:41Just because its boss works for the president,
02:44doesn't mean Tesla can get away lightly from the fallout of his economic policy.
02:53Transcribed by ESO, translated by —