For years there was almost nothing going wrong at Tesla. In recent decades, the car manufacturer has grown from start-up to the largest builder of electric cars in the world. Self -handed the brand forced other car builders to invest in electric models.
The image has been very different in recent months. Since CEO Elon Musk became closely involved with the government of Donald Trump, the Tesla sales figures in Europe, especially in Europe. In total, the brand delivered 336,681 cars in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 387,000 in the same period a year earlier – a much larger decrease than analysts had expected.
This is not only due to the political actions of the CEO. Tesla also suffers from a somewhat outdated range of models, for example. But in the meantime, there is no doubt among analysts that the behavior of Musk contributes to the bad figures.
Tangible object
Tesla has rapidly grown into a symbol of the Trump government. That not only affects sales, but also leads to the world’s protest growing against the brand. Tesla offers demonstrators an omnipresent, tangible object to stand against: everywhere you can find charging points, dealers, models.
Often in recent weeks this has happened peacefully, as on Saturday, March 29, voted worldwide by demonstrates ‘Takedown Tesla Day’. There were demonstrations from San Francisco to Tilburg.
Sometimes things are much harder and illegal and opponents on fire, or cars. The photo editor of NRC Collected images of the anger towards Tesla from all over the world.
And also in the Netherlands a protest took place against Tesla on March 29. A group of a few dozen demonstrates went to a location of the brand in Tilburg, accompanied by a fanfare.
Photos Merlin Daleman