The move has had a knock-on effect on Tesla’s share price which has dropped by more than 9%.

Acea data revealed that demand for electric cars was on the up. In January, new EU registrations of hybrid-electric cars were up by 18.4%.

This was down to significant growth in the four biggest markets with sales up a whopping 52.5% in France.

Spain saw EV sales figures up 23.5% with Germany increasing EV sales by a hefty 13.7 over the past month.

The numbers suggest that motorists were simply turning their backs on Tesla for other brands instead of electric vehicles altogether.

Meanwhile, Tesla registered fewer vehicles in the UK than Chinese EV brand BYD for the first time ever.

The news comes amid Elon Musk’s controversial decision to wade into international politics over the past few months.

Musk is a major part of Donald Trump’s new administration and runs the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

However, he has also waded into European politics as he openly backed the AfD ahead of the German elections held last Sunday.

In Britain, Musk has been critical of Sir Keir Starmer with rumours he is prepared to make a major donation to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Figures show that demand for brand-new petrol and diesel vehicles has dramatically fallen across the continent.

Petrol registrations saw a sizeable decline of up to 18.9% with diesel sales also down by as much as 27%.