‘Longtime’ Hertz customer says he’s ‘done’ after AI scanner flagged water reflection as actual damage “[The] Model Y refresh should be able to turn around some of these headwinds but the reality is the Europe EV market remains an Everest-like uphill climb for Musk and Tesla,” the Tesla bull added. Tesla’s European market share fell to just 1.2% in May – down from 1.8% the year before. Customers have been switching over to rival Chinese automakers, which sold 65,808 cars in Europe last month and doubled their share of the market to 5.9%, according to data from Jato Dynamics. Tesla rival BYD registered nearly as many vehicles as Tesla in May after outselling Musk’s brand the month before. Elon Musk’s Tesla is suffering brand damage from his role in the White House. REUTERS In the first quarter, the Shenzhen-based firm doubled its profits to $1.3 billion after reporting annual revenue that leapfrogged past Tesla’s to break the $100 billion mark. Total car sales have fallen 0.6% in the European Union so far this year, but demand for EVs has been growing. Registrations of battery-electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and hybrid-electric (HEV) vehicles have jumped 26.1%, 15% and 19.8%, respectively, so far this year. Sales of these electric cars accounted for a whopping 58.9% of EU passenger car registrations in May, up from 48.9% the year before, according to the data. Filed under