The German drugstore chain slaps Elon Musk over his support for Donald Trump.

Elon Musk, the controversial billionaire and owner of the electric vehicle maker Tesla and social media platform X (former Twitter) has just lost a major client in Europe. Rossman, the continent’s largest drugstore chain based in Germany, has just announced the termination of all purchases of Tesla cars, with immediate effect.

The reason is Musk’s open support and recent public endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly described climate change as a hoax—this attitude is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars,"

said Raoul Rossmann, the company's spokesperson for management, in a statement.

Rossmann currently has 34 Teslas in its fleet of 800 vehicles, and the company plans to continue using these vehicles for “sustainability and resource conservation.” However, Rossmann is the first major business to cite Musk’s political stance as a reason to halt future Tesla purchases.

More to read:
Did Elon Musk lie about Optimus?

Other European companies have dropped Tesla orders for different reasons. For instance, software giant SAP decided to stop offering Teslas as company cars for employees, citing the uncertainties caused by Musk's frequent price cuts, which are unlike those of other car manufacturers.

In the U.S., Hertz, a Florida-based car rental company, is struggling with its large investment in Tesla vehicles, leading it to offload tens of thousands of the company’s cars. Similarly, European leasing companies have faced challenges, forcing Tesla to offer unofficial discounts to keep them satisfied.

More to read:
New headache for Elon Musk: Microsoft and Meta own trademark “X”

The European EV market is significantly larger than that in the U.S., but demand has slumped due to strong competition and fewer subsidies. This has hurt Tesla, as the largest countries in the region have reported sharp drops in sales for the first seven months of the year, according to Yahoo Finance.

In addition to his political stance that is hurting sales, Tesla is successfully challenged by Chinese EV manufacturers in Europe and Asia, thanks to lower prices and multiple incidents involving Tesla vehicles.

***
NewsCafe is an independent outlet that cares about big issues. Our sources of income amount to ads and donations from readers. You can support us via PayPal: office[at]rudeana.com or paypal.me/newscafeeu. We promise to reward this gesture with more captivating and important topics.