Tesla has reported an 8.5 per cent year-on-year decline in sales during the first three months of 2024, delivering 386,810 electric vehicles in this period.
This news has impacted the financial market, with the company’s shares falling by 6 per cent on Wall Street, reaching $165.5 per share.
Despite this decline, the decrease in the value of the shares has moderated since the start of the session, when they fell by close to 7 per cent.
Tesla’s delivery figure for this quarter has fallen below the average analyst estimate, which was around 449,080 units delivered in this period.
Elon Musk‘s company has attributed this sales decline to several factors, including the early start of production of its updated Model 3 in California, as well as closures at its Berlin gigafactory due to shipping diversions caused by the conflict in the Red Sea and an incendiary attack on the power supply.
Recently, Tesla temporarily suspended production at its German factory in Grünheide, near Berlin, due to bottlenecks in component supply and an incendiary attack on the factory’s power supply.
In total, Tesla produced 433,371 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 440,808 units in the same period last year.
Despite these challenges, Tesla managed to regain its position as the world’s largest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), surpassing the Chinese manufacturer BYD.
BYD sold 300,114 BEVs in the first quarter of 2024, while the US company has faced concerns about consumer demand due to high interest rates and is “between two waves of growth,” as it has warned investors.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been working to maintain buyer interest by offering incentives and experimenting with advertising.
Despite the current challenges, Tesla remains a significant player in the electric vehicle market and continues to seek ways to stimulate demand and maintain its position as a leader in the sector.
