FRANKFURT: Tesla sales plunged again in Germany last month even as the broader electric car market rebounded, data showed Thursday, the latest sign of a growing backlash against billionaire owner Elon Musk.
Just 2,229 of Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in March, about 43 percent fewer compared with the same period last year, the KBA federal transport authority said.
Overall electric vehicle registrations rose 35.5 percent in Germany year-on-year as sales continue to rebound from very low levels seen in early 2024.
Like elsewhere in Europe, EV sales slowed in Germany last year against a weak economic backdrop, with the situation worsened in the region’s biggest auto market by the withdrawal of government subsidies.
Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce in US President Donald Trump’s administration, and due to factory upgrades.
But he has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — which is shunned by mainstream parties — ahead of February elections.
Some German Tesla drivers have put “I bought this before Elon Went crazy” stickers on their vehicles, Teslas have been targeted in suspected arson attacks in Berlin and Dresden, and protesters have staged demonstrations against the carmaker.
Over the first three months of the year Tesla registrations fell a whopping 62.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024, the KBA said.
Overall in March, the number of new vehicle registrations in Germany fell to 253,497, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, the latest sign of weakness in the market.
German auto manufacturers are now facing another headache after Trump slapped 25-percent tariffs on car imports into the United States.
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
https://arab.news/pmz8f
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
- Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce
- Musk has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany
Indonesia to send record number of women officers to assist Hajj pilgrims
- Women comprise 33% of Indonesian Hajj officers in 2026
- They will assist the world’s largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Friday concluded a training program for Hajj officers, a group that this year includes a record number of female guides to help Indonesian pilgrims perform the spiritual journey.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia sends the largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims every year, comprising 221,000 people in 2026.
They will be assisted by more than 1,600 Indonesian officers who came from different parts of the country to participate in a 20-day training program in East Jakarta to prepare them for the roles, ahead of the pilgrimage season in May.
“Education and training for Indonesian Hajj officers … are carried out as part of the operational preparations for the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage,” said Puji Raharjo, director general of Hajj management at the ministry, during the closing ceremony on Friday.
“This program is aimed at ensuring the physical, mental, technical and organizational readiness of the officers in order to guide, serve and protect Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.”
Indonesia is sending more than 500 female Hajj officers in 2026 — its largest group of women guides yet.
“This year, women officers comprise about 33 percent, the highest in the history of Hajj management in Indonesia,” Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, the minister of women’s empowerment and child protection, told reporters.
As over 55 percent of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims are women and most of them are elderly, female officers can help ensure that they are treated with more care and empathy, she added.
Fauzi said: “There are many issues that are more suitable to be handled by female officers, things related to women’s issues, assistance inside the room, or emergencies that concern the privacy of the (women) pilgrims.”
The training program, which ran from Jan. 10-30, was aimed at preparing the officers physically and educating them on existing Hajj policies and mechanisms, while also covering operational case studies and lessons on effective communication and Arabic, as well as simulations of real-life situations related to the pilgrimage.
Indonesian Hajj officers will undergo a round of training online in February, before another session is held with reference to their departure locations in Indonesia.
“Every year, Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims in the world. This fact demands us to be truly ready and organized with officers who are dependable. Hajj officers fill a strategic role, you represent the state for the pilgrims, (and) you represent the state in front of the world,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said while addressing this year’s batch of Hajj officers.
“This training and guidance program is therefore very important, as this is where you all prepare in order to understand the extent of your duties, strengthen coordination and come together in unity and discipline for the mission ahead.”
