Elon Musk hits a ‘gold mine’: Tesla sales here set a spectacular record, surpassing the European ‘giant’ before the end of the year

This is Tesla’s first market outside North America.

Tesla has just become the best-selling car brand in Norway – a rare bright spot for CEO Elon Musk in the context of difficult global operations.

According to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), the number of new Tesla cars registered in the country was 6,215 in November, bringing the total number of cars registered in the first 11 months of the year to 28,606. This number surpasses the record of 26,575 cars set by Volkswagen in 2016.

Tesla car sales in Norway from early 2025.

The best-selling Tesla model in Norway is the Model Y, with sales up 34.6% since the beginning of the year despite a boycott in many European countries due to Elon Musk’s political views.

Car sales in Norway jumped 70% in November from a year earlier as consumers rushed to buy before the electric vehicle tax increases from January 2026. Tesla alone saw sales nearly triple compared to November 2024. “The car market in Norway is very active right now,” OFV CEO Geir Inge Stokke told Reuters.

Pure electric cars accounted for 97.6% of new cars sold in the month – in line with Norway’s long-standing goal of ending sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2025.

In contrast to Norway, Tesla’s global sales are forecast to fall 7% in 2025, according to Visible Alpha. In Europe, sales fell about 30% in the first 10 months of the year and continued to fall in November.

Norway is Tesla’s first market outside North America, and it has been a key springboard for the company to establish itself as a market leader in electric vehicles thanks to subsidies for zero-emission vehicles.

In Norway, Model Y sales fell sharply at the beginning of the year but quickly recovered from the third quarter after Tesla launched the long-awaited upgraded version.

According to Reuters