Tesla's Europe sales test new lows as EV maker navigates legal loops in the U.S.

In July, despite a rise in overall electric-vehicle purchases, Tesla’s deliveries in Germany suffered a sharp drop, according to figures released Tuesday by the nation’s vehicle licensing authority.

The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) showed Tesla posted only 1,110 registrations in July. This marks a decline exceeding 55% compared with the same month last year. Year‑to‑date through July, its German tally fell by nearly 58% to about 10,000 vehicles relative to the previous year’s performance.

Last month, new Tesla sign-ups across major European markets decreased, even after the automaker unveiled a refreshed version of the Model Y. The company continues to contend with fallout from CEO Elon Musk’s political views, evolving regulatory challenges and intensifying rivalry from other brands.

By comparison, Chinese automaker BYD recorded a surge in German registrations, reaching 1,126 in July, roughly five times its level of a year earlier. Through the first seven months, BYD’s volumes climbed to 7,449 cars, more than five times its total from the previous year.

High costs slow rivals while Tesla bets on cameras and AI

Making fully self-driving cars has turned out to be harder than expected. Steep expenses for essential components and stringent oversight have prompted competitors, including GM’s Cruise division, to scale back their ambitions.

Rather than employing costly lidar and radar, Musk relies on cameras paired with AI, setting Tesla’s approach apart from rivals like Waymo and Zoox.

Tesla initiated a limited beta of its self-driving taxi service in Austin this June, deploying roughly a dozen Model Y SUVs under the watch of onboard safety attendants. Musk said his EV firm has been “super paranoid about safety” and is pushing to make service available to half the U.S. population within five months.

The company is now awaiting approvals in several states. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles declined to comment on the potential effects of the Florida ruling, while Nevada and Arizona said they continue to review Tesla’s applications. Florida authorities had no immediate remark.

Tesla faces further hurdles in expanding Robotaxi across U.S.

A Florida court decision may impede Tesla’s introduction of its planned autonomous robotaxis.

In a recent ruling previously reported by Cryptopolitan, jurors awarded roughly $243 million to relatives of two crash victims from a 2019 incident involving an Autopilot-enabled Model S. The verdict concluded that Autopilot had faults contributing to the fatal outcome. Tesla maintained that driver error was to blame and has announced plans to appeal.

The outcome follows multiple federal inquiries and recall notices tied to incidents involving the company’s self-driving technology. Legal analysts caution that getting state regulators on board with a robotaxi rollout could take longer, potentially postponing Tesla’s goal to bring its service to half the U.S. population by the end of the year.

“Now there’s essentially an opinion that some aspect of Tesla’s business is not safe and maybe the safety that the company advertises isn’t what it’s cracked up to be,” said Aaron Davis, a legal partner at a Washington firm.

The standard Autopilot package manages vehicle pace, spacing and lane positioning on highways. The optional Full Self-Driving upgrade extends operation into urban areas, handling maneuvers such as turning and lane shifts.

Analysts at Piper Sandler note the Florida decision doesn’t directly apply to the latest FSD iterations.

Tesla has usually won or settled lawsuits over its driver-assistance system, but this case was different. In this incident, a Model S ran a stop sign and hit a parked Chevy Tahoe, killing two people nearby. The driver said he was picking up a dropped phone and didn’t get any warnings from the system. The jury decided Tesla’s Autopilot was at fault.

“It’ll take time for regulators to move forward—definitely past the end of the year,” said Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management. “It’s a black eye for Tesla’s image.”

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