Australians turned off Elon Musk’s Tesla as EV sales tumble in February

Tesla sales in Australia have fallen off a cliff since last year, in tandem with a broader automotive industry slump, more cash-conscious consumers and chief executive Elon Musk’s growing involvement in US politics.

The company’s 71.9 per cent collapse in Australian Model 3 and Model Y sales from February 2024 to 2025 is in keeping with weaker traditional internal combustion engine and electric vehicles nationally.

According to new Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data, new car sales across the board fell 9.6 per cent for the same period.

As well as attributing the decline to “low consumer demand and cost of living pressures”, the chamber said the industry was “increasingly concerned at the rate of total battery electric vehicle sales” which made up 5.9 per cent of total sales, compared with 9.6 per cent in February 2024.

Australian Electric Vehicle Association president Chris Jones said most consumers did not go straight for a brand new car when they needed a replacement, and that financial pressures were also likely contributing to holding off on any big purchases.

The FCAI data does not include Tesla sales, which it’s understood ceased being provided to the organisation in the middle of last year.

But separate data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows the US automaker has lost popularity Down Under, with Tesla sales down from 5665 vehicles in Australia in February 2024 to 1592 last month.

It comes as Mr Musk — CEO of the $US870-plus billion listed company — becomes progressively more involved in US politics and aligned with US President Donald Trump.

The President has usurped long-standing alliances and imposed trade tariffs on allies within weeks of his return to office.

He appointed Mr Musk to run a newly-created Department of Government Efficiency in a bid to cut costs and bureaucracy within the government, and has been a big supporter of the entrepreneur’s efforts thus far.

Mr Musk also recently faced backlash for what some perceived to be the use of a nazi salute at a Mr Trump rally in January.

Tesla shares have lost more than 25 per cent of their value since the start of the calendar year.

While there’s no way to pin down exactly what has caused the sales decline, Mr Jones said the CEO’s behaviour was “absolutely” a contributing factor.

“A fair bit of it is people are going, ‘Oh, OK, they’re not the only player in town’ . . . but without a doubt, the antics of the CEO have definitely turned off a lot of people,” he said. “I know a lot of Tesla owners who . . . love the car, but they really don’t like the association that he’s created for them.”

Mr Jones said further factors driving the decline was the so-called ‘Osborne effect’ — a phenomenon where customers wait for the next model of a product to come out before purchasing.

He said this had been particularly the case with the Tesla Model Y, but he was ultimately upbeat that there was still momentum in the EV market.

“People are still buying EVs, they’re just not buying them as keenly as they were this time last year,” he said.

“EVs are one of those segments . . . there’s always something new coming out tomorrow. And especially with the new model Y, the refresh model Y Tesla, a lot of people are quite excited for it, but they’re not going to buy an EV until it comes out.

“When everybody knew that the new electric typewriter model was coming out, nobody bought their current models.”