Europeans keep punishing Elon Musk as Tesla sales plunge 40% in EU in July

Europeans angry at Elon Musk still aren’t buying his cars months after the billionaire predicted a “major rebound” in Tesla sales, data released Thursday shows.

Tesla sales plunged 40% in July in the 27 European Union countries compared with the year earlier even as sales overall of electric vehicle soared, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Meanwhile sales of Chinese rival

Tesla stock fell 1.5% in afternoon trading Thursday.

Musk angered many Europeans 

The company has several other problems that have hurt sales.

The company is still awaiting European regulatory approval to allow Tesla owners there to use its most advanced driver-assistance features available in the U.S., a big appeal to buyers. Musk had predicted approval of its so-called Full-Self Driving software was going to happen

Another hit came from Tesla’s decision to close down factories temporarily earlier this year to retool for a new version of its best selling Model Y sport utility vehicle

The company is hoping the introduction of cheaper Teslas in the last three months of this year will boost sales.

Overall, the company sold 6,600 cars in July in the EU versus 11,465 a year ago. The plunge came despite a 39% surge in battery electric vehicle sales overall.

For the first seven months of the year, Tesla sales have fallen 44%. For that entire period, as opposed to just July, Tesla accounted for 1.2% of European sales of all types —- battery, hybrid and gas powered —- versus 0.9% for