Tesla's Stock Slides After More Weak Sales Data

• Tesla shares slid Wednesday as sales data from several countries indicated year-over-year declines in the EV maker’s sales.

• Tesla sales fell in May compared with a year ago in Germany, Italy, and the U.K., while rising in Australia and Norway, per CNBC and Reuters.

• Tesla sales have struggled this year as the EV maker has faced protests related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in U.S. politics.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) lost ground Wednesday as reports indicated the electric vehicle maker’s sales continued to slip in some key markets last month.

Sales declined again in May across Germany, Italy, and the U.K. Shipments from the company’s factory in China, which are delivered within China and to other markets, also fell last month, according to reports.

However, Tesla also has received some positive news lately, as sales reportedly rose in Australia and Norway in May, according to CNBC and Reuters.

The company told Reuters it expects sales to pick up in June, at least in the U.K., where a spokesman there said the automaker had sold through its stock of Model Y SUVs as it awaited delivery of the new version of the popular model. The revamped Model Y was launched in the U.S. earlier this year.

Tesla shares finished close to 4% lower Wednesday, and are off more than 17% since the start of the year, as a rally sparked by CEO Elon Musk saying he would refocus on Tesla and his other companies has slowed in recent weeks. The EV maker has seen sales slump in the U.S. and abroad so far this year amid pushback to Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration.

Musk has since left the administration, and on Tuesday criticized the budget reconciliation bill currently working its way through Congress as a “disgusting abomination” that would add to the current budget deficit and national debt.

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