Tesla stock continued to struggle on Thursday.
After opening in the green, the EV maker’s stock plunged back in the red.
In the last five sessions, the Tesla stock has closed in the red on four occasions.
The stock has had a rough year so far. On a year-to-date basis, the Tesla stock is down around 12%.
A lack of fresh models, along with backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political stances, has compounded Tesla’s struggles at the bourses this year.
Musk has repeatedly urged investors to focus on Tesla’s future prospects, which he envisions revolving around autonomous robotaxis and humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence, rather than its near-term performance in the electric vehicle market.
In a post on X on Monday, Musk wrote that “~80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus,” referring to the company’s still-unreleased humanoid robot.
Tesla sales in the UK, but BYD continues to accelerate
Tesla’s new-car sales in Britain rose in August compared to a year earlier, boosted by demand for electric vehicles, even as the broader UK auto market contracted.
New Tesla registrations climbed 7.6% in the month, alongside a 15% increase in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales, according to figures released Thursday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Separate estimates from the research group New AutoMotive showed BEV sales up 20% in August, with the difference attributed to variations in data sources and methodology.
Britain’s appetite for EVs contrasted with a 2% fall in overall new-car registrations, which dropped to 82,908 units during what SMMT described as the “quietest month” for auto sales.
“August was the best month yet this year for EV market share and, while it is often volatile due to low overall volumes, the overall trend is positive,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in a statement.
Despite the August gains, Tesla’s UK sales are down 5.5% so far in 2025, the data showed.
That compares with a near six-fold increase for Chinese rival BYD, highlighting the intensifying competition in Britain’s EV market.
European sales lag behind
Data released last week showed that Tesla’s grip on the European electric vehicle market continued to weaken in July, with sales falling for the seventh month in a row.
Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed Tesla’s new registrations dropped 40% year-on-year, down to 8,837 vehicles.
The decline came even as the region’s overall battery electric vehicle sales rose, underscoring the US automaker’s mounting struggles against intensifying competition.
Chinese rival BYD, meanwhile, reported 13,503 new registrations in Europe during July, a 225% jump from a year earlier.
The Shenzhen-based automaker has been rapidly expanding across the continent, opening showrooms and launching new models in several key markets.
BYD’s aggressive expansion has enabled it to attract more customers and quickly gain market share, positioning it as one of the strongest challengers to Tesla in Europe’s fast-growing electric vehicle industry.
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