Elon Musk pledges to refocus on business as Starship launch looms and opposition to Tesla intensifies in Australia and Europe
Tesla shares jumped nearly 6% on Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk said he would be “super focused” on his core companies—Tesla, SpaceX, X, and AI venture xAI—following operational setbacks and growing political backlash. The announcement came ahead of SpaceX’s scheduled Starship Flight 9 launch and amidst a turbulent period for Tesla in key global markets.
In a weekend post on X, Musk acknowledged system reliability issues that triggered an outage on the platform and vowed to spend “24/7” improving operations. “Major operational improvements need to be made,” he said, pointing to recent failures in failover redundancy systems.
The renewed focus on Tesla arrives as the company weathers significant reputational headwinds and sliding sales, particularly in Europe. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Tesla vehicle registrations fell 49% year-on-year in April to just 7,261—well below the 14,228 units sold in the same month of 2024. Over the first four months of 2025, European sales are down 39% to 61,320 units.
Tesla’s decline came despite overall battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in Europe rising nearly 28% over the same period. Traditional and Chinese automakers such as Volkswagen, BYD, and SAIC saw gains, with hybrids continuing to dominate the European market. Tesla, which sells only full battery-electric cars and has not refreshed its lineup with new mass-market models, has struggled to keep up.
The company’s political entanglements have exacerbated its challenges. Protests erupted across Tesla showrooms in March, with critics targeting Musk’s leadership role in Donald Trump’s administration, particularly his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has since indicated he will reduce his government role to a “day or two per week” and reaffirmed his commitment to lead Tesla for at least the next five years.
The fallout is also being felt in Australia. In Adelaide, 95% of nearly 1,000 public submissions opposed a plan to sell contaminated public land to Tesla for a battery factory. While the site has been closed since 2016, residents voiced strong disapproval of Musk’s politics and objected to the loss of green space. Submissions described Musk in colourful—and often redacted—terms, and the council report noted widespread “anti-Tesla and anti-Elon Musk sentiment”.
The proposal, backed by Melbourne developer MAB CCT Pty Ltd, includes a battery servicing facility and showroom, with Tesla as the long-term tenant. Mayor Kris Hanna acknowledged the backlash but said planning decisions would be based on economic merits, not political views. The project promises 100 jobs and an estimated AU$56m in economic output.
Despite the global controversy, Tesla’s Australian battery division has boomed. In 2024, battery-related revenues soared from AU$580m to AU$2.55bn, eclipsing car sales for the first time. Overall Australian revenue hit AU$5.1bn, up from AU$3.81bn the year before, with battery sales driving much of the profit growth.
