Tesla shares tumbled on Tuesday after a sharp drop in sales in Europe, while US consumer confidence dragged Wall Street lower.
The electric vehicle maker's sales in Europe and the UK fell by 45.2 per cent year on year in January, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (Acea). Tesla's drop bucked a wider trend in Europe, where new battery-electric car sales rose by 34 per cent in January and captured a 15 per cent market share, according to Acea.
Tesla closed 8.39 per cent lower when trading ended in the US on Tuesday at $302.80 a share. The company's valuation also fell below $1 trillion, to $973.96 billion.
Tesla reported a drop in sales for the first time in 2024, as the company faces increased competition from China's BYD and other car makers.
It also comes as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk intrudes more into European politics. Mr Musk threw his support behind Germany's far-right AfD party and called to congratulate its co-leader on increasing its support from the last election.
Mr Musk is also a close associate of US President Donald Trump after pouring billions of dollars into his 2024 electoral campaign. Since taking charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) on January 20, he has sought to drastically reduce the size of the US federal government and cut off foreign aid.
US consumer confidence dips
US markets remained on edge before Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, as weak consumer confidence dragged stocks lower.
Analysts estimate a quarterly revenue of $38.16 billion for 2025's fourth quarter and an earnings per estimate forecast of 0.85, according to data compiled by Yahoo Finance.
Nvidia fell by 2.8 per cent to $126.63 a share, dragging the Nasdaq Composite down 1.35 per cent. The S&P 500 fell 0.47 per cent while the Dow Jones Industrial Averaged climbed 159.95 points, or 0.37 per cent.
Markets dipped after a new report showed US consumer confidence dipped sharply in February over growing concerns of how Mr Trump's policies will affect the economy. The Consumer Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell by seven points to 98.3, its largest drop since August 2021.
“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019. Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board.
Average 12-month inflation expectations also surged from 5.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent.
“Tariff worries are rattling consumers' cages in a way that they perhaps did not in the current President's first term,” Wells Fargo economists Tim Quinlan and Jeremiah Kohl wrote in a note.
Federal Reserve officials say it is still too soon to know how Mr Trump's policies will affect the inflation battle, although they have indicated in recent weeks they are willing to hold interest rates steady for several months amid policy uncertainty and a lack of progress in bringing down inflation.
“All this uncertainty argues for caution as we look to wrap up the inflation fight. If headwinds persist, we may well need to use policy to lean against that wind,” Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said earlier on Tuesday.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Company%20profile
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
SPECS
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EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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