The Tesla Model 3 is no longer the second most popular second-hand car in the Netherlands, having dropped to fourth place behind Hyundai, Volvo, and Audi, according to second-hand car website Gaspedaal.nl.

Between November 2024 and the end of February 2025, searches for a Tesla Model 3 fell by 40%, the website reported. At the same time, the number of second-hand Tesla cars for sale has doubled, and the average price has dropped from €30,000 to €21,000, the AD cited the website as saying.

In 2023 and 2024, the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling new car in the Netherlands, with just under 2,000 registered last November. However, by January, new orders had declined to below 500, the AD reported.

The trend, attributed partly to the influence of Elon Musk and partly to the anticipated arrival of a new Model Y in March, is evident in other countries as well. In Germany, sales are down 60%, and in France, they have dropped by 63%, according to the AD.

“We’ve become used to Teslas dominating the electric car market, but other brands have made significant gains,” said Gaspedaal.nl spokesman Jasper Verweij. “It is no coincidence that sales have declined so sharply since Musk began involving himself in global politics. This likely plays a role in the downturn in new Tesla sales.”

Shares in Tesla have slumped more than 9% after figures from trade body Acea showed EU sales had halved in the year to the end of January 2025.

An opinion poll in the Netherlands last month, before Musk started attempting to influence the German election, showed some Tesla owners in the Netherlands want to part ways with their cars, due to the controversial behaviour of the company owner.

In total, 432 members of the 26,000-strong EenVandaag viewers panel own a Tesla, either purchased or leased. The brand accounted for the largest share of new car sales in the Netherlands last year.

Of panel Tesla owners, 30% said they have either recently sold their car or are planning to do so, and 40% said they feel embarrassed about owning one. “Musk is abusing his power,” one driver said. “If I had known what he would turn into, I would never have bought one.”