Tesla (TSLA) shares rose this week, as CEO Elon Musk confirmed his exit from Washington DC, despite data showing that the electric vehicle (EV) company's sales in Europe nearly halved last month.

Musk said in a post on X on Wednesday night that his scheduled time as a special government employee is coming "to an end".

"I would like to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote on X, referring to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

This came a day after Musk said in a CBS interview, due to be aired in full this weekend, that he believed Trump's tax bill "increases the budget deficit ... and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing".

Musk has faced backlash over his role heading up DOGE and overseeing cuts to government agencies, with protests having been held at Tesla (TSLA) facilities around the world.

Tesla sales have continued to fall amid the backlash against the billionaire. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), released on Tuesday, showed that sales of Tesla (TSLA) vehicles dropped by 49% to 7,261 units in April, compared with the same month last year. The EV maker's market share declined to 0.7% from 1.3% in April of 2024.

ACEA data has shown Tesla's (TSLA) sales in Europe dropping since the start of the year, even as electric car sales grew in the region.

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In April, Tesla (TSLA) reported global deliveries of 336,681 for the first quarter, which missed expectations of 390,342, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. This made it the worst quarter for deliveries in almost three years.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said that given the fall in Tesla's (TSLA) European sales "came against a backdrop of a meaningful increase in European electric vehicle sales more broadly, it suggests the brand damage caused by Elon Musk’s political interventions may be lasting".

Earlier this week, we asked Yahoo Finance UK readers if they believed that Tesla (TSLA) sales in Europe could recover amid the backlash against Musk. We received 309 votes, with 18% of respondents believing that sales could recover, while 75% disagreed and 7% were undecided on the matter.

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