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Tesla saw its sales volumes fall 9% in the three months to end March to 386,810 vehicles as competition in EVs grew and demand slowed. Despite the decline it reclaimed its position as the biggest supplier of electric vehicles, ahead of BYD.
More than £20bn was wiped off the value after it reported the first fall in car sales for four years. Its share price fell 4.9% on the day and are down by a third (33%) in 2024.
Tesla said the decline in volumes was partially due to the early phase of the production ramp of the updated Model 3 at its Fremont factory and factory shutdowns resulting from shipping diversions caused by the Red Sea conflict and an arson attack at its Gigafactory in Berlin.
The jury is out on Tesla. In November Steve Young, of ICDP said: “Depending on where you get your news from, the outlook for Tesla is anywhere on a spectrum from “the glory days are over” to “the only manufacturer who will survive the Chinese is Tesla. As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.”
Young continued: “Over the last couple years, there are suggestions that things have become much tougher for Tesla.
“In the face of more competition…Tesla cut prices across the board on multiple occasions, interspersed with some increases, but sales volumes have not shot up in line, and the cash generated by the business net of investment fell by 75% year on year to the third quarter.”