Tesla's EU Sales Plunge as Musk Takes Flak

Trump has defended Tesla but the company's sales have fallen - AFP
Trump has defended Tesla but the company's sales have fallen - AFP
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Tesla's EU Sales Plunge as Musk Takes Flak

Trump has defended Tesla but the company's sales have fallen - AFP
Trump has defended Tesla but the company's sales have fallen - AFP

Tesla electric car sales in Europe plunged in the first three months of the year, industry data showed Thursday, in a fresh blow to its boss Elon Musk who has been criticised for his work in US President Donald Trump's administration.

Sales of the sleek machines fell 45 percent to just over 36,000 units in the first quarter of 2025 in the 27-nation bloc, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said in a report.

They dropped by 36 percent just in March, suffering in both periods the biggest fall in sales of any of the major car groups tallied in the association's report, despite a growth in electric vehicle sales overall, AFP reported.

Tesla showrooms have been hit by vandalism, demonstrations and boycott calls in Europe and the United States in a backlash against public service cuts introduced by Musk in his role as a close adviser to Trump.

On Tuesday the company reported a 71-percent drop in first-quarter profits, signalling a hit to demand due to what it called "changing political sentiment."

It reported profits of $409 million following a drop in sales, while revenues fell nine percent to $19.3 billion.

Musk promptly announced he would scale back his work for the Trump administration in May to focus on Tesla.

- Auto tariff concerns -

Trump's combative trade policies have raised concerns in the auto sector after he enacted 25-percent tariffs on cars imported into the United States to try to boost US manufacturing.

"Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers," Tesla said on Tuesday.

"This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term."

Tesla pointed to tariffs as another headwind for the company and analysts have also cited a stale portfolio of vehicles as among the challenges facing the company.

But Tesla said it was on track to launch new vehicles "including more affordable models" in the first half of 2025.

Analysts warn of significant brand damage to Tesla from Musk's leadership role in the "Department of Government Efficiency," which has granted itself access to government databases with sensitive personal information and implemented thousands of job cuts.

 

- EU electric car drive -

 

Electric vehicle sales grew in several EU countries including Germany, as well as non-EU member Britain, the ACEA said -- but they still only accounted for 15 percent of the auto market.

Under ambitious efforts to combat climate change, the EU introduced a set of emission-reduction targets that should lead to the sale of fossil fuel-burning cars being phased out by 2035.

However, according to AFP, ACEA director-general Sigrid de Vries in a news release highlighted a "persistent gap between ambitious decarbonisation goals, and the 'reality check' of slower-than-expected consumer uptake" of electric cars.

"It is vital that policymakers prioritise the measures that will incentivise a supportive ecosystem -- from charging infrastructure to fiscal incentives -- to ensure the uptake of zero-emission vehicles can accelerate meaningfully," she said.

Hybrid fuel-electric cars held the biggest share of the EU market: 36 percent compared to 29 percent for petrol-only vehicles.

The bloc's car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, the slow switch to electric vehicles and increased competition from China.

Some manufacturers complain the switch is harder than expected as consumers have yet to warm to electric vehicles, which have higher upfront costs and lack an established used-vehicle market.

Musk in a conference call on Tuesday reiterated his bullish outlook on the long-term prospects for Tesla, highlighting its leadership in key growth areas: robotics, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.



AI Tool Uses Selfies to Predict Biological Age and Cancer Survival

Three pedestrians take a selfie on the picturesque alleyway at the end of Rue de l'Universite, Paris. Ian LANGSDON / AFP/File
Three pedestrians take a selfie on the picturesque alleyway at the end of Rue de l'Universite, Paris. Ian LANGSDON / AFP/File
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AI Tool Uses Selfies to Predict Biological Age and Cancer Survival

Three pedestrians take a selfie on the picturesque alleyway at the end of Rue de l'Universite, Paris. Ian LANGSDON / AFP/File
Three pedestrians take a selfie on the picturesque alleyway at the end of Rue de l'Universite, Paris. Ian LANGSDON / AFP/File

Doctors often start exams with the so-called "eyeball test" -- a snap judgment about whether the patient appears older or younger than their age, which can influence key medical decisions.

That intuitive assessment may soon get an AI upgrade.

FaceAge, a deep learning algorithm described Thursday in The  Lancet Digital Health, converts a simple headshot into a number that more accurately reflects a person's biological age rather than the birthday on their chart.

Trained on tens of thousands of photographs, it pegged cancer patients on average as biologically five years older than healthy peers. The study's authors say it could help doctors decide who can safely tolerate punishing treatments, and who might fare better with a gentler approach.

"We hypothesize that FaceAge could be used as a biomarker in cancer care to quantify a patient's biological age and help a doctor make these tough decisions," said co-senior author Raymond Mak, an oncologist at Mass Brigham Health, a Harvard-affiliated health system in Boston.

Consider two hypothetical patients: a spry 75‑year‑old whose biological age clocks in at 65, and a frail 60‑year‑old whose biology reads 70. Aggressive radiation might be appropriate for the former but risky for the latter.

The same logic could help guide decisions about heart surgery, hip replacements or end-of-life care.

Sharper lens on frailty

Growing evidence shows humans age at different rates, shaped by genes, stress, exercise, and habits like smoking or drinking. While pricey genetic tests can reveal how DNA wears over time, FaceAge promises insight using only a selfie.

The model was trained on 58,851 portraits of presumed-healthy adults over 60, culled from public datasets.

It was then tested on 6,196 cancer patients treated in the United States and the Netherlands, using photos snapped just before radiotherapy. Patients with malignancies looked on average 4.79 years older biologically than their chronological age.

Among cancer patients, a higher FaceAge score strongly predicted worse survival -- even after accounting for actual age, sex, and tumor type -- and the hazard rose steeply for anyone whose biological reading tipped past 85.

Intriguingly, FaceAge appears to weigh the signs of aging differently than humans do. For example, being gray-haired or balding matters less than subtle changes in facial muscle tone.

FaceAge boosted doctors' accuracy, too. Eight physicians were asked to examine headshots of terminal cancer patients and guess who would die within six months. Their success rate barely beat chance; with FaceAge data in hand, predictions improved sharply.

The model even affirmed a favorite internet meme, estimating actor Paul Rudd's biological age as 43 in a photo taken when he was 50.

Bias and ethics guardrails

AI tools have faced scrutiny for under‑serving non-white people. Mak said preliminary checks revealed no significant racial bias in FaceAge's predictions, but the group is training a second‑generation model on 20,000 patients.

They're also probing how factors like makeup, cosmetic surgery or room lighting variations could fool the system.

Ethics debates loom large. An AI that can read biological age from a selfie could prove a boon for clinicians, but also tempting for life insurers or employers seeking to gauge risk.

"It is for sure something that needs attention, to assure that these technologies are used only in the benefit for the patient," said Hugo Aerts, the study's co-lead who directs MGB's AI in medicine program.

Another dilemma: What happens when the mirror talks back? Learning that your body is biologically older than you thought may spur healthy changes -- or sow anxiety.

The researchers are planning to open a public-facing FaceAge portal where people can upload their own pictures to enroll in a research study to further validate the algorithm. Commercial versions aimed at clinicians may follow, but only after more validation.