Opinion | Forget Doge, it’s Musk’s Tesla that looks in need of a rescue

Once an audacious pioneer in electric cars, Tesla is being out-competed by cheaper, more innovative rivals and suffering by association with Musk

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Elon Musk wields a chainsaw on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Centre on February 20 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, US. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Published: 2:15pm, 19 Mar 2025

Elon Musk wielded a chainsaw on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the United States last month, dramatising his intent to slash US federal government bureaucracy as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a Trump administration initiative.

Yet he may well need dramatic measures himself to turn around Tesla’s increasingly precarious position in the US, China and Europe. Unless Musk and Tesla undergo a transformation, the beginning of the end may be upon them.

Once a hallmark of Musk’s innovative, if unorthodox, leadership, Tesla now faces declining sales and mounting challenges across its global markets. While Musk’s audacious vision propelled Tesla to the forefront of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, the company is confronting a confluence of political, competitive and technological headwinds that threaten its dominance.

Tesla’s global sales figures paint a worrying picture. In the US, its largest market, registrations dipped by 11 per cent year on year in January, signalling a demand weakness and consumer backlash.

The decline in China is even more alarming. The country is Tesla’s second-largest market and home to its Gigafactory in Shanghai, but shipments plummeted by 49 per cent year on year last month to reach the lowest monthly figure since July 2022. Even in Europe, where Tesla operates a Gigafactory in Germany, sales experienced a dramatic 76 per cent drop last month.

Investor concern over Tesla’s future is reflected in its share price. Between the December high and March low, Tesla’s share price has plummeted by half, erasing over US$800 billion in market value.