BMW overtakes Tesla in Europe: Is Elon Musk behind the brand’s faltering sales?

Tesla has been the leading electric vehicle manufacturer for years, with technology and sales ahead of the competition—until now. In July, the overall sales of Tesla vehicles in Europe were surpassed by a more venerable automaker: BMW.

The German giant sold 14,869 electric vehicles across its range, while Tesla only shifted 14,561 cars. In the current climate of animosity toward CEO Elon Musk due to his political antics on his social media platform X, is this the beginning of the end for Tesla?

It’s not that simple. BMW and Tesla may be the two leading individual makers in Europe, but groups with more than one brand surpass both.

Volkswagen Group, with the VW, Audi, Skoda, and Cupra brands, is the bestselling European EV automaker today by some margin. Tesla falls behind Hyundai-Kia, and Stellantis’ Peugeot, Vauxhall, Citreon, and Opel in most markets across Europe too.

BMW’s growing range of EVs

Part of BMW’s success is that Tesla only sells two cars in volume—the Model Y and Model 3. In contrast, BMW has a growing range with a confusing list of names: the iX1, iX2, iX3, iX, i5, and i7.

The more premium i5 is gaining traction—garnering particular interest because the 5-series represents the core of what BMW is all about: autobahn-conquering super saloons. But the electric i5 continues the model’s main strengths—solid performance, comfortable ride, and capable range.

BMW also owns the Mini brand, which has just refreshed its EVs with a strong update to the Cooper and new Countryman, although those won’t be included in the BMW figures.

Tesla’s sales are cyclical. If you’ve been watching the market over the last few years, there’s usually a Tesla sales push at the end of a quarter, so the final month of each one posts bumper shipments. Looking back at June 2024 figures for the U.K., for example, Tesla had 20% of the EV market and BMW just 11%. In Europe, Tesla had 17% of the BEV market to BMW’s 10%. So, in reality, the July results are the calm after the June sales storm.

The Y reigns supreme

The leading EV model in the European market is clearly the Tesla Model Y. Globally, it was the number-one-selling car across all fuel types in 2023, selling 1.23 million units, beating the Toyota RAV4’s 1.07 million in second place. Despite falling sales in 2024, it’s still way ahead of other EVs in Europe, with 110,725 vehicles sold by the end of July. Nothing else comes close. It’s still the best all-rounder in its class on the market in terms of performance, interior space and practicality.

However, the quality of the cars has been overshadowed by Elon Musk’s character. His outspokenness has always been controversial; this was a marketing asset in the past.

But since Musk purchased Twitter, changed its name to X, and turned it into a bastion of “free speech,” his image has soured. Many longtime users of the social media platform have felt the shift was too far toward right-wing politics and misinformation. For Tesla, Musk’s image is now becoming a threat instead of an asset. Some owners even claim they have sold their Teslas because of him.

Should Tesla fans be worried?

There are no signs yet of concern from the stock market about the direction Tesla has taken. Share prices may have fallen well below their $400-plus peak near the end of 2021, but while there was a dip below $150 in April this year, values have stabilized over $200 since then.

Despite the criticisms of the Cybertruck, it was the best-selling vehicle for over $100,000 in the USA in July 2024. There is also still a lot of interest in whether Tesla can crack autonomous driving, considering it has the largest testing fleet on the market. If FSD can come out of beta before any other self-driving systems, the value of Tesla could skyrocket.

BMW also has new tricks up its sleeve—most of its new vehicles share their design with traditional fossil-fuel options. This is the company hedging its bets during this transitional period. BMW even has an experimental hydrogen-powered version of the X5 undergoing global testing.

The upcoming BMW Neue Klasse saloon car will change that. Taking its inspiration from the company’s 1961 pivot that saved it from bankruptcy, this is a bold new leap forward towards the all-electric future. The design grabbed all the headlines in 2023, but the first product to hit the market will be what BMW calls a Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), probably in the same size class as the current iX3. Considering how well the X3 has sold (2.5 million and counting), and the relative success of the iX3 BEV variant, the Neue Klasse SAV could help BMW maintain its strong position in the electric market against Tesla.

The Neue Klasse also halts the recent BMW trend toward increasingly giant front grilles and angularity. The concepts shown so far are a modernized return to the classic BMW designs of the original Neue Klasse.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Tesla’s death are an exaggeration because sales are still extremely healthy despite recent falls. But it’s clear the gap between it and other automakers has narrowed, with Chinese companies also catching up fast.

BMW probably won’t be at the top of the BEV sales rankings every month from now on. But it looks like Tesla’s days of always having a clear market lead are over.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com