Tesla continues to successfully fend off the growing threats to its dominance in Norway, overcoming the widespread disenchantment with Musk’s political antics.
Tesla has enjoyed dominance in Norway for many years now, but that run is now under threat by rivals capitalizing on growing discontent from those who can’t separate Musk’s identity from his companies.
In the first quarter of this year, Volkswagen temporarily seized the top spot with its EV offering, and it is quickly gaining fans among Norwegian drivers. Chinese manufacturers, including BYD , XPeng and SAIC Motor’s brand MG, also together captured a 12.3% share of new sales in June.
Another Musk enterprise, SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings reportedly crossed the $1 billion mark after the cryptocurrency’s price marked a new all-time high on Wednesday. Data from Arkham Intelligence shows the aerospace company currently holds 8,285 BTC, valued at around $1.02 billion.
SpaceX’s BTC portfolio. Source: Arkham Intelligence . Tesla sales in Norway surge despite dissatisfaction with Musk politics
Norwegians are faced with a dilemma where Elon Musk is concerned. Many of them seem to love his car products, but they are struggling to reconcile that love with their dislike of his foray into right-wing politics.
The first half of 2025 saw Tesla sales plunge by half or more in various parts of Europe including Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. However, they grew by 24% year-on-year in Norway, which makes the relatively small country the company’s second-largest European market.
The 12-year relationship between the Nordic nation and the carmaker appears to remain strong, even if it has shown signs of strain. It is believed that this long history has encouraged brand loyalty and insulated against blowback.
“In many ways, you could say Norway helped build Tesla,” Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association said. “Everyone in Norway knows someone who owns a Tesla. It’s more personal.”
The sentiment, which has been echoed by many other Norwegians, makes it clear Norway holds symbolic importance for the Tesla brand. However, nobody knows how long their loyalty to the brand will last.
Already, it is fraying with research from polling agency Norstat published in February showing 40% of Norway’s Tesla owners now believe Musk’s political activism is negatively affecting the brand, even if more than half of the Tesla owners polled expressed a desire to buy another Tesla.
The EV maker has also benefitted from a promotional blitz where the company offers zero-interest financing and free supercharging. While the promotion boosted new car sales, it did not prevent steep sales declines in Nordic neighbors Sweden and Denmark, where no Tesla models cracked the list of top-10 sellers in July, according to OFV.
SpaceX has held over $1 billion in Bitcoin before
Arkham data started tracking SpaceX’s BTC holdings since the beginning of 2021, when the firm’s portfolio rose to $1.8 billion in April that year.
Around that time, the company owned around 28,000 BTC, but it reportedly reduced its holdings by around 70% in mid-2022, coinciding with the market-wide shock triggered by the meltdown of Terra-Luna in May and the collapse of FTX in November. The company has not added more BTC to its stash since, according to the data.
Tesla also sold off a huge percentage of its Bitcoin holdings around the same time as SpaceX and now holds 11,509 BTC, worth approximately $1.42 billion.
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