New Delhi, Aug. 29 -- Europeans angry at Elon Musk still aren't buying his cars months after the billionaire predicted a "major rebound" in Tesla sales, data released Thursday shows.

Tesla sales plunged 40% in July in the 27 European Union countries compared with the year earlier even as sales overall of electric vehicle soared, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Meanwhile sales of Chinese rival BYD continued to climb fast, grabbing 1.1% market share of all car sales in the month versus Tesla's 0.7%.

Tesla stock fell 1.5% in afternoon trading Thursday.

Musk angered many Europeans by wading into politics there, embracing far-right candidates, calling a British prime minister an "evil tyrant" who belongs in ...