Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s latest pledge to his own RTO (back to the office) comes as more negative data emerges.
According to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), Tesla EV registrations (representative sales) in Europe fell by a whopping 49% to 14,228 in April compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the region’s overall EV registration (including the UK and European Free Trade Associations) rose 34.1% in April, with total registrations falling 0.3%.
Tesla’s April drop marked the fourth straight down month in Europe, with other reports showing that EVs from Volkswagen, BMW and China’s BYD are profitable.
With further signs of weakening demand, the April registration results include the newly refreshed Model Y of Tesla, the bestselling car that should have seen sales bumps for new features.
Tesla shares closed nearly 7% as President Trump again retreated from tariff threats. This time we focused on the European Union.
Tesla’s sales in Europe come after the company reported sliding sales, the worst quarter of delivery since the second quarter of 2022.
But Musk’s latest communicado via his X platform shows that he is serious about leaving Washington, leading the nominally controversial Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), performing his own RTO and returning to Tesla, SpaceX, and X.
“Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in meetings/servers/factory rooms,” he said following X’s stoppage.
In addition to the Starship launch and SpaceX update he’s giving late Tuesday, Tesla itself has been preparing for the important Robotaxi exams in Austin since the end of July.
Musk and Tesla are betting the company’s future on autonomous driving and its cars’ ability to run Robotaxi services. Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi – Cybercab – is also scheduled to be released in 2026. And Tesla’s long-awaited, more affordable EV is expected to be revealed in the first half of the year.
Musk’s return to work has been teased since April when he said he would be less time in DC.
“My time allocation to Doge will be significantly lower early next month and early May,” Musk told investors during Tesla’s first quarter revenue call. However, reports show that Musk is still spending his time in DC in April.
Last week, in two separate interviews with Bloomberg and CNBC, Musk repeated his rededication to the company. He also said he’s seen him in Tesla’s CEO chair for at least the next five years.
