In the first three months of the year, Elon Musk’s Tesla saw a dramatic decline in deliveries as the electric vehicle manufacturer dealt with a fire at its European plant, disruptions to global shipping, and other issues.
Less than 387,000 electric cars were delivered to customers by the corporation, which is the lowest quarterly total in more than a year.
That was far less than analysts had predicted and down more than 8% year over year.
The announcement caused hares to drop more than 4%.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, called the update a “unmitigated disaster… that is hard to explain away”.
Over the past year, Tesla’s shares have already decreased, indicating difficulties as competitors increase their own electric vehicle offerings and increased borrowing rates make the company’s cars less accessible.
In response, the company has frequently lowered pricing. However, despite this, demand has decreased in important regions like China as rivals like BYD gain ground.
Throughout the first three months of this year, Tesla’s issues grew worse. Attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea disrupted supplies, forcing the company to temporarily close its German plant, which was then the target of an accused arson attempt.
According to Mr. Ives, the data indicated that the company had experienced a “train wreck into a brick wall” in the first quarter, intensifying pressure on Mr. Musk.
“This is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise troubling days could be ahead,” he stated.
According to the firm, output decreased by 1.6% year over year in the first quarter of this year, from 439,701 automobiles in 2023 to 433,371 cars in the same period last year.
However, the impact on delivery was greater, declining by more than 8% annually.
The decline coincides with automakers’ industry-wide retreat from their aspirations for electric vehicles due to lower-than-anticipated demand. Nonetheless, the majority of analysts still predict a sharp increase in electric car sales this year.
Tesla has also had issues unique to the business.
Safety inspectors have been examining the company’s power steering and other aspects, and it has also been questioned about its autonomous car software, which it claims will spur new growth.
Meanwhile, some investors have expressed worry that the business’s product lineup has become stale. Mr. Musk has been concentrating on other projects, such as his social media platform X, which was formerly Twitter, where his statements and actions have caused controversy and damaged the reputation of Tesla. Watch All Blacks vs Fiji live
