Tesla experienced a 13% decline in vehicle sales last quarter, reaching its lowest point in nearly three years. This downturn occurred as the company revamped its key Model Y and faced international criticism directed at CEO Elon Musk. In the first quarter of the year, Tesla delivered 336,681 vehicles, marking its weakest performance since Q2 2022 and falling short of analysts’ expectations of over 390,000 units.
The disruptions to Tesla’s operations were significant early this year. The company undertook global factory retooling for the redesigned Model Y, which led to production losses typical during transitions between vehicle generations. Additionally, Musk’s involvement in global political matters sparked protests across the US and Europe.
Recent demonstrations have been fueled by Musk’s political stances supporting far-right candidates and causes. His actions included efforts to reduce the federal workforce under President Trump’s administration and comments on Germany’s election and NATO.
Following these developments, Tesla shares dropped by up to 6.4% after Wednesday morning trading began. Since reaching a peak post-Trump election victory, Tesla stock has fallen by 44%.
Despite these challenges, Tesla aims for growth after experiencing a delivery drop in 2024—the first annual decline in over ten years—accounting for more than three-quarters of last year’s revenue from auto sales.
Investors anticipated difficulties due to both the Model Y transition and typically slow first-quarter auto sales; however, Tesla underperformed compared to many competitors. In Europe alone, registrations fell by 43% within two months despite a general industry rise of 31% in EV sales; meanwhile wholesale shipments declined further behind domestic competitor BYD who saw an impressive increase with their battery-electric & plug-in hybrid vehicles’ deliveries rising significantly during Q1.
Overall,Tesla delivered fewer Model Ys & Model Threes (323800) representing about twelve percent decrease year-over-year while other models such as Cybertruck,S,X witnessed twenty-four percent reduction totaling only12881units sold
