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An already difficult month for Tesla (TSLA) and Elon Musk is about to get even worse.
Once hailed as the undisputed leader of the booming electric vehicle (EV) market, Tesla is now struggling to make up the ground it has lost recently, primarily due to backlash against Musk. The CEO’s polarizing nature and political affiliations have caused many consumers to turn their backs on both him and the company.
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This trend has severely compromised Tesla’s sales, as demonstrated by the company’s underwhelming Q1 earnings report. The automaker came in below even Wall Street’s scaled-back estimates on key metrics, showing that its problems are even worse than some experts anticipated.
Tesla’s uphill battle isn’t confined to the U.S., though. Competition is rising in the global EV market, and a new development in an important market suggests the company has new problems.
Two shocking companies are threatening Tesla in a top European market
European consumers haven’t held back in letting the world know how they feel about Musk. Protests against both him and Trump have raged across cities such as London, Berlin, and Paris, and in some cases, Tesla dealerships have been set on fire.
Related: Controversial EV tax credits will be bad news for Tesla
It’s not a stretch to say that Tesla is experiencing a European nightmare, as sales across the continent continue to decline. But in the UK, things are particularly concerning, as Tesla is being overtaken by two shocking companies, something it really can’t afford right now.
To illustrate how bad things are for Tesla in Britain, the EV producer sold only 512 cars there last month, after selling over 1,300 in April 2024. Meanwhile, Tesla’s primary rival, Chinese tech leader BYD (BYDDY) , sold 2,511 cars in the UK, an increase of 650%.
BYD isn’t the only Chinese automaker that outsold Tesla in the UK in April 2025, though. Two much-smaller automakers called Jaecoo and Omoda, both owned by tech conglomerate Chery International, sold 1,053 and 910 cars, respectively, both of which came in well above Tesla.
Granted, these small automakers both offer EVs, hybrid vehicles, and gas-powered cars, while Tesla sells only EVs. But the clear takeaway is that Tesla, one of the world’s best-known companies, is losing a key race to two companies that until recently, many people outside China probably hadn’t heard of.
As Business Insider reports, “getting lapped by two virtually unknown Chinese rivals is a sign of just how much trouble Tesla faces in Europe, its third-biggest market.”