Tesla stock fell 3% in moring trading after data showing its sales results in Europe were still struggling.

The move followed the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association's (ACEA) release of sales data for August. Tesla sold 8,220 vehicles in the European Union, down 37% year over year. BYD sold 9,130 cars, up 201% year over year. It was the second consecutive month that ACEA data showed BYD with the leg up.

Including the U.K., Norway, and other countries in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Tesla surpassed BYD, selling 14,831 cars compared with BYD's 11,455 vehicles. Tesla sales dipped 22% year over year. BYD sales grew 216%.

Tesla has sold 133,857 cars in the EFTA so far this year, down 33% year over year. BYD sold 95,940, up 280%.

Tesla has struggled to grow car sales in 2025, amid more competition, an aging product lineup, and fears that CEO Elon Musk's position in the Trump administration turned off some core Tesla buyers -- politically left-leaning people looking to go green. Globally, Musk's EV maker sold 721,000 cars in the first half of the year, down about 13%. For the third quarter, Wall Street expects sales of about 447,000 vehicles, down about 3% compared with the 463,000 sold in the third quarter of 2024.

Tesla shares gained 4% on Wednesday after Musk defended his proposed pay package, awarding him some 425 million incentive-laden stock options worth about $1 trillion if he hits all his performance goals, including generating $400 billion in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda.

For comparison, Apple -- another member of the so-called Magnificent Seven group of megacap stocks -- is expected to generate about $145 billion in 2025 Ebitda, according to FactSet. Tesla is expected to generate about $13 billion.

The annual meeting isn't until November. Investors have a while to decide how they will vote. Given their history of approving his 2018 options award twice, few expect the package to be voted down.

Coming into Thursday trading, Tesla stock was up about 10% so far this year and up about 74% over the past 12 months. It has been a wild few weeks for the stock. Shares were up 27% over the past 10 trading sessions.