Elon Musk’s provocative statements and role in the Donald Trump administration have not gone without consequences for his companies. The “anti-Tesla” sentiment has reached Lithuania, too, with dealers saying some buyers cancel their orders out of moral considerations.
According to various sources, sales of Teslas began to fall drastically in Europe, and then later in the US.
Bloomberg reported that in Europe, demand for Teslas in January fell by 45 percent compared to the beginning of 2024. According to NBC, Tesla sales in the US were down by around 11 percent. At the same time, demand for electric cars from other manufacturers rose.
There was also a drop in the company’s share value that nearly halved within just a few weeks.
There is also a palpable social backlash against Musk’s brand. In the US, Tesla drivers started putting stickers on their cars declaring that they had bought them “before Elon went crazy”. Protests began outside Tesla dealerships and factories, with people calling for a boycott.
There have also been cases of vandalism on Teslas. Safety concerns have led the organisers of the Vancouver Motor Show in Canada to remove Tesla from the list of exhibitors.
‘Nazi cars’
The anti-Tesla sentiment has not bypassed Lithuania either. Last week, the car dealership Deals on Wheels posted a review of the new Tesla Model Y Juniper on Facebook. “Take a look, evaluate, criticise (the car, not the politics”, the company concluded its post.
The post has attracted dozens of negative comments. People criticised Deals on Wheels of continuing to sell “Nazi cars”, while others asked when the Tesla Model SS would be launched.
Benediktas Vanagas, a well-known Lithuanian racing driver, also made a brief statement. “This is what happens when passion turns into office hours. My condolences,” he commented under the post.
Rokas Abloževičius, the director of Deals on Wheels, told LRT.lt that the company was not trying to be provocative with the post.
“It was a regular car review, just like any for a Volkswagen, a BMW, etc. Did the Tesla review upset someone who link these electric cars with Nazis or whatnot? Yes, it did, which I think is strange because our post was really about the changes in the car, not about the actions of one person who is influencing the whole world.”
He argues that it would have been easier to just take down the post once it started attracting criticism, but the company decided not to do it.
“On the one hand, the car itself is not to blame for what is going on in the world, just as Tesla employees are not to blame. It’s a big company, everyone is not to blame for one person’s actions,” Abloževičius commented.
Deals on Wheels also said it would be donating 100 euros for every critical comment under the post to the Ukraine support organisation Blue/Yellow. The total donation amounted to 5,500 euros.
Cancelled orders
Back in 2020, Deals on Wheels announced it was planning to be Tesla’s dealership partner in Lithuania. However, Abloževičius says the plans did not pan out and his company is not actively selling Tesla cars.
“We were negotiating for a long time for dealership rights, but in the end, a year or 18 months ago, they made it clear that they are not letting anything out of their own hands, even though Lithuania is a small market. It was a matter of time before they opened a representative office. We realised that there was no point in continuing to work actively with Tesla and decided not to sell them,” he said.
According to Abloževičius, Deals on Wheels would only help their clients get hold of a Tesla if they themselves ask for it. Overall, the company was selling five to eight Teslas a month.
“We are not actively selling Teslas now, but there are customers who have bought these electric cars and want to replace them. Not necessarily with another Tesla, but they just want to sell their current Tesla. You can’t just send a customer you sold a Tesla to before to Musk,” Ablomževičius commented.
The international “anti-Tesla” movement has changed attitudes in Lithuania as well, according to him. Some buyers decided to cancel their orders for new Teslas on moral grounds.
“There are some who ordered new Teslas in the past but have now cancelled their orders. They openly said they did it because of moral issues, because of what Musk said, they simply do not want to buy it anymore. For others, it’s not an issue, they do not look at politics,” said Abloževičius.
Impact not yet in statistics
Gintenis Dauparas, a spokesman of the car classifieds portal Autoplius.lt, says it is still early to say whether the “anti-Tesla” sentiment has had an perceivable impact on sales in Lithuania.
According to him, in February 2024, the Tesla Model 3 was the second most popular new electric car purchased in Lithuania. The Tesla Model Y was in eighth place. A total of 14 electric cars from the American manufacturer were sold. In February this year, the Tesla Model Y was the second best-selling new electric car, a total of 10 Teslas were sold.
“When the numbers are so small, it is difficult to assess the real impact. Moreover, we recently got an updated Model Y, which has really attracted attention,” says Dauparas.
He admits that he has noticed intensifying discussions about Elon Musk and how his politics affect his brand. “But the ‘anti-Tesla’ movement [in Lithuania] is far from what it is in the US,” he adds.
No comment from Tesla
Tesla has recently decided to open an official dealership in Lithuania. LRT.lt has approached the company’s representation in Sweden, which covers the Baltics, for comment.
“We decline to comment but take the opportunity to tell what Tesla stands for,” Tesla spokeswoman Maria Lantz said in an email. “Tesla is a mission-driven company. Our mission has always been, and always will be, to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
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