Irish registrations of Tesla Model 3 up 42% while sales continue to fall in Europe
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, a close adviser to US president Donald Trump, has seen significant backlash for his actions within the US government and his meddling in European politics.
The number of newly registered Tesla Model 3 cars in Ireland increased by 42% during the first three months of the year as the electric carmaker’s sales in other European countries continue to fall, data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shows.
Between January and March, there have been 872 new Teslas registered of which 656 were the company’s Model 3 — a 42% increase on the same period last year — and 216 were the Model Y, a 41% decrease.
Prices for the Model 3 start at just under €40,000, while for the Model Y it's €45,000.
The Tesla Model 3 is the second best selling electric car so far this year behind the Volkswagen ID.4.
This comes as new electric car registrations increased by 29% during March continuing the rebound in sales following a disappointing 2024.
According to data, total new car registrations were up 18.4% in March to 17,345 compared to the same period last year, while registrations for the year so far are up 4% to 64,824.
Last month, 2,544 new electric cars were registered, which was 29% higher than the 1,980 registrations in March last year.
So far this year, 9,978 new electric cars have been registered representing a 25.8% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Petrol cars account for 27.85% of the new car market, whole petrol-electric hybrid cars account for 24.28%, diesel with 16.73%, electric at 15.39%, and plug-in electric hybrids at 14.14%.
Brian Cooke, director general of SIMI said, in addition to the positive news on electric cars, “the market performance has been driven by an increase in the sales of hybrid cars, which when combined with electric cars account for 55% of the market”.
The Tesla sales figures in Ireland comes as the brand suffers in other European markets.
The company, run by Elon Musk who is a close adviser to US president Donald Trump, saw its sales in France and Sweden fell year-on-year for a third consecutive month in March, contributing to the lowest first-quarterly sales figures in the two countries since 2021, new data shows.
Mr Musk has stirred controversy by courting far-right parties in Europe, which has added to Tesla's sales slump ahead of the much-anticipated launch of its new Model Y mid-size SUV.
During March, Tesla registered 3,157 car sales in France and 911 in Sweden, dropping respectively 36.83% and 63.9% from last year, official data showed. Its quarterly sales were down to 6,693 in France and 1,929 in Sweden.
Tesla's sales of new cars in Denmark fell by 65.6% in March from the same month a year ago to 593 vehicles while in Portugal, Tesla sales are down 26% during the first three months of the year.
In Norway, Tesla sales fell by 1% last month compared to the same period last year.
Tesla currently faces a number of challenges in Europe. The carmaker has a smaller, ageing lineup while traditional automaker rivals and new Chinese entrants are launching new, often cheaper electric models.
Mr Musk's support of far-right parties in Europe, including for Germany's AfD that came second in February's national elections, also appears to have hurt Tesla's sales on the continent.
In response to Musk's right-wing activism, Tesla cars have become targets for vandalism across several countries, while "Tesla Takedown" protests are planned across Europe and the US.
On Monday, Musk said that an overnight fire at a Tesla dealership in Rome that destroyed 17 cars was an act of terrorism, reiterating an earlier comment by Mr Trump.
