BRUSSELS — Tesla’s collapsing European sales are putting at risk its revenue from selling credits to other automakers looking to avoid paying penalties for not meeting EU emissions targets.
European automakers face fines should they fail to meet this year’s carbon dioxide reduction goals, but those selling too many CO2-emitting cars can dodge the fee by pooling with a company doing better than the EU demands. That’s been a lucrative earner for all-electric Tesla.
Since its founding, the EV company has brought in billions from such schemes. In 2024, it made $2.76 billion on emissions deals, a 54 percent year-over-year increase, its annual financial earnings report shows.
That revenue stream is now in jeopardy as consumers across Europe shun the brand after its CEO, Elon Musk, a key adviser to President Donald Trump, threw his support behind far-right parties and made incendiary remarks about Germany letting go of its Nazi past.
