Tesla has achieved its best-ever sales month in Europe, with the Model Y and Model 3 claiming the top two positions among all cars sold in September.
The Model Y also leads Europe’s nine-month sales ranking. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX are exploring a merger that could create a $3.5 trillion technology giant. But what would ordinary Tesla customers gain from such a deal?
Model Y overtakes Dacia Sandero
According to preliminary Dataforce figures published by Automotive News Europe, Tesla registered a record 66,035 cars in September, surpassing its previous monthly high of 60,934 in March 2023. The figures cover 98% of the EU, UK, and EFTA markets, with Portugal and Lithuania still missing.
The Model Y topped the European market with 40,971 registrations, up 55% year-on-year. The Model 3 followed, with 25,057 units, more than double its September 2025 volume. Volkswagen’s Golf came a distant third with 18,088, ahead of the Dacia Sandero (17,547) and VW Tiguan (16,457).
More significantly, the Model Y has overtaken the Sandero as Europe’s bestselling car over the first nine months of 2026. Its registrations increased by 52% to 167,369, compared with 162,969 for the Sandero, down 11%.
‘Tesla shame’ melting away
The figures also suggest that the embarrassment some European Tesla owners expressed over Elon Musk’s political activities may be melting away like snow in the sun.
At the height of the backlash, bumper stickers declaring “I bought this car before Elon went crazy” became a symbol of so-called ‘Tesla shame’, as owners sought to distance themselves from the controversial CEO.
Boycotts and protests made headlines, but September’s record sales suggest that Tesla’s appeal may once again be outweighing objections to Musk. Whether this signals a lasting change in consumer sentiment or merely reflects Tesla’s familiar end-of-quarter sales surge remains to be seen.
Europe’s electric car boom
Tesla’s success reflects a broader acceleration of Europe’s electric vehicle market. BEV registrations more than doubled in September to 245,120, bringing the nine-month total above 2.1 million, up 39%. Meanwhile, gasoline car sales fell 14% in September.
However, Tesla’s monthly performance remains volatile, partly because of its end-of-quarter delivery patterns. The Model Y fell to 73rd place in July before recovering to seventh in August and first in September.
Competition is intensifying, too. The Jaecoo 7 became the first Chinese-brand model to enter Europe’s monthly top ten, while BYD’s Seal U and Atto 2 continued gaining ground.
A $3.5 trillion mega-merger?
Just as Tesla celebrates its European sales record, Musk is considering a radical transformation of his business empire. During SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Musk confirmed that independent committees at Tesla and SpaceX have been established to examine a potential merger.
Although Musk described combining the companies as a good idea, he emphasized that no agreement has been reached. Given his financial interests in both businesses, he is not participating in the committees’ discussions.
With a combined market valuation of approximately $3.5 trillion, the transaction could rank among the largest corporate mergers ever.
The industrial logic extends beyond rockets and electric cars. Musk sees opportunities to combine Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, humanoid robots, and manufacturing expertise with SpaceX’s satellite communications, AI infrastructure, and semiconductor development.
SpaceX’s third-quarter revenue reportedly surged 161% to $14.6 billion, including $7.6 billion from AI activities. However, its ambitions are expensive: capital expenditure reached $19.6 billion during the quarter alone.
What’s in it for Tesla customers?
For ordinary Tesla buyers, the advantages are less obvious. Combining SpaceX’s satellite technology and AI expertise with Tesla’s autonomous driving systems could eventually produce smarter, better-connected vehicles. But the companies can already cooperate without merging.
Nor would a merger automatically make Teslas cheaper, improve reliability, accelerate the introduction of affordable models, or strengthen Europe’s after-sales network.
It could even create competing priorities for investment. Tesla shareholders might gain exposure not only to SpaceX’s rapidly expanding AI business but also to its enormous capital requirements.
That is the paradox: while Tesla demonstrates that its electric cars can still dominate Europe’s market, Musk is considering a future in which car manufacturing becomes just one activity within a vast AI, robotics, and space conglomerate.
