Why Don’t Norwegians Hate Tesla Like the Rest of Europe Does?

The slump does not stop. [Tesla](https://www.wired.com/tag/tesla/) sales in Europe slumped again in November 2025, confirming a [negative trend](https://www.wired.com/story/whats-driving-teslas-woes/) that has been going on for more than a year. Data reported by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/tesla-november-car-registrations-drop-58-france-49-denmark-data-shows-2025-12-01/#:~:text=Analysts%20pointed%20to%20growing%20competition,sold%20model%2C%20Mobility%20Denmark%20said.) shows monthly registrations of Tesla automobiles—an accurate way of measuring sales—halved compared to the same month in 2024 in the continent's main markets: -58 percent in France, -59 percent in Sweden, and -49 percent in Denmark. In Germany, where the [Elon Musk](https://www.wired.com/tag/elon-musk/)\-controlled automaker has its only European plant on the outskirts of Berlin, recorded just [750 vehicles sold](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/05/tesla-musk-germany-sales-down.html) in October, less than half the number [sold](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/05/tesla-musk-germany-sales-down.html) a year earlier. The big exception to this downward trend is in Norway, where registrations of Tesla cars nearly tripled to 6,215 units. The numbers for the first 10 months of 2025 expose a structural crisis. Tesla lost about 30 percent of European sales compared to the same period in 2024, according to [data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association](https://www.acea.auto/pc-registrations/new-car-registrations-1-4-in-october-2025-year-to-date-battery-electric-16-4-market-share/#:~:text=New%20car%20registrations:%20+1.4%25,ACEA%20-%20European%20Automobile%20Manufacturers'%20Association), the body that groups the industry's manufacturers on the Continent. Tesla's market share in the electric car segment fell from 12.6 percent in May 2024 to 7.2 percent in May 2025, according to analysis by Schmidt Automotive. [Volkswagen](https://www.wired.com/tag/volkswagen/) took the lead among electric vehicle manufacturers by selling 133,465 units in the first six months of the year versus Tesla's 108,878, and Chinese manufacturer BYD sold more than twice as many cars as its US rival in October. Read the full story here: [https://www.wired.com/story/why-dont-norwegians-hate-tesla-like-rest-of-europe/](https://www.wired.com/story/why-dont-norwegians-hate-tesla-like-rest-of-europe/)

Because Norwegians own Tesla Stock and buys the best cars.

Tesla Superchargers are everywhere and that is still a huge advantage. I‘ve been to Norway three years ago with a Tesla and even then, there was a problem that at some places there were not enough chargers available. Tesla hired people managing who is in line to charge. It‘s not that they are in love with the Swasticars, Tesla simply has the Supercharger net at the best locations all over the country.

Supporting a Nazi pedo protector is worth the convince. Got it

pretty much; not everyone bothers themself to be a "SJW", plus some actively agree with Elon's Breivik-adjacent take on immigrants.

Pretty much... people will look away as long as it doesn't effect them personally... some have contract obligations, some don't care... some aren't aware... not all... some

Why is this an advantage for Tesla? Other cars charge at superchargers all the time. I think the huge price cuts made it more palatable, and I get the impression here that most people don’t know just how much he’s fucked the US.

Superchargers in Norway are open to cars of all makes.

People on Reddit underestimate that there were Teslas before Elon went openly nuts and underestimate that many people don‘t give a shit about politics. (I am in the first bracket, just to let you know.)

The Teslas Supercharge net are financed by public money and if you don’t have a Tesla you can still charge there, but you need to pay a monthly fee to Tesla besides the charge fee. Europe should take a serious look at this

Being against these things makes me a SJW I think being on the pro side is more concerning

At this point buying a new Tesla is a clear signal We know who Elon is now

These are new car sales. People know

yes, I didn't intend to make that derogatory. I'm a Model Y owner; I got the car in late 2023; $6000 off and $10,500 in government money made it too hard to pass up. I knew Elon was a shithead then but his 2024 heel turn has made me not entirely happy still being a Tesla owner.

I own a Lightning and a Model 3 in the US. Even here it’s still so much easier to charge the Tesla.

A large part of it is front running a huge tax increase.. "The record stems from an incentive system built over more than two decades that has made electric vehicles cheaper than conventional ones through a 25 percent VAT exemption for cars priced below 500,000 Norwegian kroner; that’s about €42,500 euros or $49,360. The November surge, however, should also be read in light of an impending change. The Oslo government announced in the [2026 budget](https://www.electrive.com/2025/10/16/norway-to-phase-out-electric-vehicle-vat-exemption-from-2027/) its intention to lower the tax-exemption threshold to 300,000 kroner starting next year (€25,500/$29,600) and then eliminate the benefit altogether in 2027. Norwegian consumers have therefore rushed to complete their purchases before the new rules take effect."

[deleted]

“Best” cars, LOL https://www.autoblog.com/news/tesla-model-y-posts-worst-defect-rate-of-any-new-car-in-a-decade

They ”buy” tesslas with 0% interest rate on large loans. The stock is a pyramid scheme and it will inevitable crash and burn, wait and see.

I believe it. I understand you don’t need adapters and that the cords reach easily. In my Lightning, I still always have to take up two spots. People get pissed. Then the stupid A2Z adapter gets stuck and can’t be removed until it cools down. The whole thing is frustrating. For road trips I take the Tesla despite the Lightning being 10X more comfortable.

I guess living in a petrostate that’s made them wealthy through huge exports of fossil fuels, and at the same time like to consider themselves as a nation and people who care about the environment and unspoiled nature, have made them immune to cognitive dissonance. So the emotional damage to support the business of a nazi-adjacent oligarch who is interfering in elections left and right, while taking great pride in living in one of the most democratic countries in the world has been numbed to the point that they no longer care as long as they can impress their neighbor with their expensive new toy. I say this as an expat Norwegian who is looking to move back to Europe and really don’t want to move to Norway any longer. The utter hypocrisy by my fellow countrymen has disappointed me to no end. Sweden and Denmark seem way more appealing to me. Those who are familiar with internal Nordic family dynamics should know what an utterly shocking statement that is.

Well that's a sweeping statement.

It might be sweeping, but: 1) Norway is a wealthy petrostate that exports huge quantities of fossil fuels 2) Norwegians are extremely proud of their unspoiled nature and value it tremendously 3) Elon Musk is spending lots of time and effort into getting right wing politicians into power and is very involved in the dark enlightenment crowd 4) Norway is indeed considered one of the most democratic countries in the world and Norwegians are immensely proud of that 5) Norway is and has been the outlier in the European sales slump for Tesla All of the above is true and if you put it all together it kind of does show quite a bit of hypocrisy by Norway and Norwegians where their actions in average does not match up with the values they profess.

they are early adopters of tesla and went all in. if you live outside of the🇺🇸politics its mostly just a car and not a political football. no rednecks blocking chargers with their trucks one year then trump endorsing tesla and telling all his followers to get one the next. if you ignore all of that they are not bad other than suspension issues and autowipe

Owning a Tesla in 2025 looks really bad. The company will not survive for long, so I'd sell if I were you.

Yes... when I see a Tesla with new plates I immediately look at the driver... so far they've all been geeky middle aged men that look out of touch EDIT: welp I've seemed to have ruffled the feathers of geeky middle aged men... which I'm a part of, so I'm gonna double down and include the out of touch oblivious soccer moms in their model Ys

It is.

Outside of Reddit, not really.

Oh you. 450k kr here in Norway isnt a big loan, relatively speaking.

Because they can see the forest despite the trees

Go to your bank and ask if they would be interested in loaning you 450k kr to buy a(n american) car, they will laugh.

Because of high taxes on fossil fuel cars, Norwegians were used to driving shitty cars (17 year old base models Passats with tiny engines). I know because I’m Norwegian.

Other countries buy our oil. If we stop oil production, they buy from someone else. There’s nothing about it. The hypocrites are the ones who buy oil yet point fingers. You don’t buy oil because we produce it, we produce oil because you buy it. The market demand is the same regardless of whether we produce or not; if we phase out today, you will call the sheikhs of OPEC tomorrow.

For the record: Toyota is the top automotive contributor to the Republican Party. And GM is second. GM also contributes the most to lobbying

Teslas are dirt cheap and much better value than other cars. (I haven’t got one and I wouldn’t, but it’s just a fact.) The fact that Norway is far away from US politics, and that Musk was a hero of the left when he preached energy transition long before anyone else also contributes to this. Also, there’s a huge drive to get cars before a new tax this new year. And they have to be delivered, not just ordered, and Teslas are available.

As a Norwegian, I fully agree. Country full of hypocrites.

Not me. I’m a middle aged mom

Why would they laugh? I dont see the «gotcha» here…

> We produce oil because you but it. Nail. Head. Hit.

But are you geeky though? Are you out of touch?

market value of that consumer goods loan is around 450k*0,08=36k per year. Multiply that by number of sold cars and years of 0% interest and you realize that tesla is in deep shit because they cant sell their inventory in EU without these crazy campaigns. Wait and see.

Hello... /tips fedora

So the same thing that happened in the US when the tax incentives went away in September. Everyone's buying them because they are cheaper than patrol vehicles but there's a timeline of about a year left. Makes sense.

> cheaper than patrol vehicles Definitely. Outfitting a police car can add $20k or so on top of the price of the base vehicle.

Are you a turn the tv up mom. Tesla moms.

Is it the Nazi or Pedo. What won you over

Naw, Elon is in national news. People know, they are too chicken to admit it

It was a typo, he meant petri vehicles

Yes, a giant vessel for cell culture medium on wheels!

Doesn’t answer why Teslas are successful. There are a lot of EV alternatives by now.

Yeah, sure. It’s not like Tesla has the worst brand image of all cars in Europe right now.

As a Norwegian that is the reason for the surge in EVs in general. This article is about Teslas and the reason Tesla has been so popular and mainstream here is that they very early came out with cars that had good range, 4x4, tow hook, fast charging, software that was miles better than competitors - and frankly looked very good. Nissan Leaf paved the way for EVs, but it was always a pretty boring car. Tesla came and delivered a sports car for the price of a regular fossil car. Made the choice very easy. European car brands struggled a lot with their EVs. It was always seen as just one product line instead of the sole focus. We are first now seeing proper EV competitors in the medium-high end market from Chinese brands. Big issue is that fossil cars are too popular in EU and the goal seem to be to make affordable cars for the urban markets or high end exclusive cars. Neither of those are good fits for Norway with long distance traveling on poor roads with half a year of snow.

Probably it is related to what you get for the money you pay. Other factors do exist, like the politics of Musk, but in fact the politics of other automakers are also not so good if you watch for a while. So, the car with the best tech, the best engineering, and the best price for what you get is the one you buy. Really, it is quite simple.

Nobody impresses anyone with a Tesla in Norway. They are the most common, boring car you'll ever see here. They were a bit impressive more than a decade ago when the Model S first launched, but not anymore since (almost literally) everyone and their grandma has one. Are they still seen as impressive in other countries? How common they are is the real reason people still buy them. People don't think it's so bad to own one when your dad, your aunt and your neighbour also owns one, you don't stand out so much.

Looked very good? They look like Generic Car in video games.

Musk’s net worth is not from car sales. His net worth is only from selling his stock. His last paypackage was larger than teslas all time revenues. If you want to hurt elon divest from the sp500.

It's the superior range and performance for the money along with the best charging network in the country.

Norway was far more aggressive than any other country in early pro-EV policies that were highly beneficial to Tesla during a time when competitors were struggling to be viewed as viable alternatives. So they developed a unique level of brand recognition and loyalty. But I doubt it lasts that long, especially with the tax breaks going away.

It was a patron vehicle, that’s a vehicle for someone who is supporting you, doubt you knew that.

We are talking about a decade ago. What was fresh and cool looking then doesn't look as fresh and cool now.

Because they are level headed.

Isn't electricity super cheap there since the country relies on hydro?

Not really. The Norwegian grid is connected to the European one, so prices are in line with continental ones. EVs are cheaper than gas cars through generous incentives though, but in this day and age there are alternatives to Tesla.

Other cars charge at v4 superchargers all the time which is a far cry from ALL superchargers.

“The stock will crash”, said this sub for the past ten years… and yet… still waiting… I suppose it only needs to crash once in order to have been the king of predictions, no matter how long that takes 🤦 I understand the want for it to crash, but maybe people should think about what it would actually take for a company this large to actually come crashing down before making nonsensical statements.

What does that have to do with getting a loan? A bank doesn’t give a crap what car you buy on the loan that you are approved on.

Do you think the majority of people that buy cars do so to impress people? 🤦

Norway isnt EU. Tesla is way overstocked, though. I’ll give you that.

No. My comment is aimed at the last sentence in the first paragraph of the comment i have replied to: "[...] they no longer care as long as they can impress their neighbor with their expensive new toy."

FUD about Chinese cars helps Tesla.

It's no advantage that makes you want to buy a Tesla, since any brand can charge at Tesla chargers now. I've done it numerous times in Norway with my car, which isn't a Tesla. Your statement was more true a couple of years ago when the chargers weren't open for everyone, but even then, most people didn't buy a Tesla. They still don't. Total yearly market share in Norway is just below 20 percent, and while that is an impressive market share, it means that more than 80 percent buy other brands.

Supporting you…with lots of tequila…?

In the case of Teslas it's either that or them doing 0 research before buying a car, yes.

please compare a model 3 from 2017 to any other car at the same price and come back and spew your vomit..

Huh?

What matters is that cars drop in value like nothing else, and shitty american cars do so faster than a quality product from europe. If a bank cant get paid by their customer they want to have the security to sell the asset, tesslas are poor securities. Get it?

Pretty sure they charge at v3 as well in Europe?

Getting salty

Why not buy a battery powered vehicle in a country with very cold winters? It makes perfect sense.

Perhaps because so much of Norway is wild where infrastructure is not great? Also Teslas are NOT for me, but they are great cars.

You make it sound like banks don’t know their business well and just loan out 50k+ to anyone that applies.

Not sure on that. In the states, the overwhelming majority are v1 and v2.

Scandinavian minimalism, it’s not hard to see why a Tesla would appeal to Norwegian’s from a design perspective.

Yep, pulling demand forward.

And supporting a Nazi. And protecting a pedo

If you feel that way then you can target all the other EV drivers who use the charging network which is nearly every EV driver.

It’s always been CCS except the really old chargers here. I’ve never seen a Tesla charger without CCS, so they’re basically all open to everyone.

I do not fell that way. I presented facts about Elon If you support that be proud. I do not.

Mainly because the Norway sovereign wealth fund owns a large percentage of Tesla so they’re obliged to.

Idk what that means? My kids don’t watch Tv

Not out of touch, but perhaps geeky? I mean idk how cool an old lady can be at this point

You know. When dad tucks them in. You not the kids turning up the volume. Get it now.

Along with everyone else’s Mutal Funds that no doubt hold TSLA

i said they wont do it without interest lol gtfo

Getting a loan at 0% surely. Banks love giving expensive loans

Can I get a diagram or perhaps a presentation slide?

This is a misrepresentation of the figures, you compare VW pure EV sales to BYD EV + gas car sales. We have to stop doing this Chinese propaganda trick seriously!

You are saying anyone who uses any product associated with him, so you do infact feel that way.

That is a stretch. But supporting anything Tesla in 2025 sends a signal.

Meanwhile the UK, has just implemented a 3pence per mile tax on BEVs vs 1.5pence on PHEVs. If I owned a BMW i3 REX I'd be laughing all the way to the bank... How long until all manufacturers start putting tiny lawnmower engines in EVs making them much cheaper to run from a tax perspective 🤣🤣

I wasn’t aware of that. All of ours are nacs over here and the newer versions allow some other brands to use them.

Your original comment insinuated that a bank is not going to loan you a large amount of money due to multiple factors and now you’ve moved to goalpost to, let me check my facts here, “they won’t do it without interest”. Did I get that right?

It’s typically the dealerships that have 0% loan promotions and not banks? Also, just because special financing is available doesn’t mean everyone qualifies.

[deleted]

[deleted]

That’s understandable. Though I’d have thought Norwegians have enough dough to choose.

Hard to find comparable cars when most of them comes with working wipers(IR rain sensor), working cruise control(radar), working park assist(parking sensors), IC, Android auto/Apple Carplay, adjustable regen etc etc. Yeah, and actual quality control.

[deleted]

An Ioniq5 is an excellent car. The best leather seats in it’s class — just as good as BMW’s leather seats.

You made a good choice. I would blackball Tesla myself for quality and ethical reasons. My next car will most likely be a BEV and the current candidates are Cupra Tavascan, BMW i4 or maybe a Genesis.

Pretty sure Polestar is Swedish, not Chinese?

numerous payment sort slim unique cause sand unwritten future instinctive *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev/home)*

[deleted]

Aha, I knew it was part owned by Volvo, but didn't realise volvo now had a Chinese parent company.

Well, cars like the BMW i4 are available since years. In my case the i4 was only 3000€ more than a Model 3 performance. And it's better in all aspects. So why would you buy a Tesla in 2025/26? There are a lot of good BEVs out there. Tesla is stuck 3-5 years ago.

Model 3 has longer range, and while there are many different versions of both cars in general the Tesla is quite a bit cheaper and particularly if you pick a well-equipped i4. Tesla has also given some incredibly cheap interest rates lately which will also influence the total price a lot. Its a bit hyperbole to say that they are stuck. They had the most selling car in the world in 2023, and 4th in 2024. They are falling a bit behind with their insisting on using camera instead of lidar, and their stocks are hyperinflated, but all in all they are still pumping out *a lot* of cars.

Tesla energy consumption is around 10% lower.

????

I don't think this argument really holds up as an ethical position. Norway clearly will not sell whatever there is demand for regardless. There is incredibly high global demand for illegal drugs, many of which Norway could make if it chose to, but you're not. You could sell chemical weapons or landmines, but you don't. It is overtly more than just a question of filling demand.

Chemical weapons are not necessary for everyday life. Neither are drugs. Oil is. Those pointing fingers would just buy from OPEC instead. Apart from that, Norway has a bad case of the Dutch disease in public sector.

That's my point, there is more to it than simple demand. Some countries in the region have pulled out of the landmine ban treaty. Some countries, like Norway, consider these weapons to be so harmful to civilian life that they have campaigned to get them banned in most countries around the world. Now Norways neighbours are saying that they are necessary to defend themselves effectively. Want to get into the landmine sale business? There is demand and the buyers consider them necessary for life.

Read up on what a false analogy is. Landmines are used by the military. Fossil fuels are used by ordinary people. Ordinary people will not consume less of this if we don’t produce. However, the Norwegian economy will collapse.

Yeah yeah. Sure it is. According to Teslas report maybe.

Longer range than my i4? Hahaha. By business trips in a model 3 LR tell me something else.

And sure they pump out a lot of cars. But still there is no development there. The car looks the same. Feels the same. Has virtually the same specs. Only thing that changed is that the leader became a fascist.

According to real life testing as well as WLTP standard. It is quite obvious once you figure out that tesla has better drag coefficient which means it is more aerodynamic thus more efficient vehicle overall. I find it hard to argue with laws of physics.

[deleted]

It has gotten very good brand penetration in Norway, the charging network is extremely good here and when it comes to what the majority here wants they are still delivering the most bang for the buck. When the EV movement came it first gathered the ones that welcomed it with things like Nissan Leaf. When the Tesla came it brought over the ones that didnt really care for EVs so much, but just saw that they got a lot of car for the money. The ones in the first category have often gone to more conservative EVs like VW Up, ID 4, Hyundai Kona etc and many of those actively picking alternatives to Tesla, while the 2nd category doesnt really care about much in life other than themselves. In Norway the more relevant thing should also be the long-standig union conflict that Tesla have had in Sweden. It is also the car that is usually on the top list of most technical problems and the longest average time in the mechanics etc.

My toaster has more sex appeal than a Tesla.

Driving EV yet are a major gas and oil producer.

That's also because of Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda's MAGA ass-licking. Don't know if he actually believes in MAGA, but his ass-licking did give Toyota some preferential advantage. Its the same as how Nippon Steel ass-licked Trump to approve US steel buyout. Same way how Japan's former Economic Minister Ryozei Akazawa literally wore a MAGA hat and ass-licked Trump and his "friends" and got a nice deal. It seems the Japanese business world (particularly Keidanren) wants to ass-lick their way out even if it means throwing away human values and dignity, as long as it brings profits.

That is a lot of ass licking

Lol Nice to see someone finally acknowledge the nissan leaf.  I have had so many conversations with highly educated, intelligent friends who are like, yes Elon is bad but if he hadn't founded Tesla we wouldn't have EVs!  Which is fucking infuriating on so many levels, not least the fact that Teslas apparently last about 30 seconds before they have to be scrapped.