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Tesla's annual vehicle deliveries fell for the first time in more than a decade, as the world's largest electric car maker came under pressure from Chinese competition.
Shares fell more than 6 percent on Thursday as the numbers raised questions about a sharp rebound in sales expected by its CEO Elon Musk.
for a whole year, Tesla It delivered 1.79 million vehicles, slightly less than the 1.81 million vehicles delivered in 2023, the first annual decline since 2011, according to Bloomberg data.
On a quarterly basis, the company said Thursday it delivered 495,570 vehicles, up 2.3 percent from the same quarter a year earlier but below market expectations of more than 500,000.
Despite the annual decline, Tesla still maintains its position as the world's largest electric car maker while facing fierce competition from its Chinese rival BYD, which reported earlier on Thursday that it… It sold 1.76 million pure electric vehicles In 2024. BYD said it sold a record 4.3 million electric and hybrid vehicles overall, a record for the company, despite mounting pressure from competitors in its home market.
Investors were expecting a strong fourth quarter for Tesla on the back of cost cuts and discounts on existing vehicles to stimulate consumer demand.
In October, Tesla reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and forecasts.Slight growthIn deliveries for 2024, while Musk expects that the group's car sales could increase between 20 percent and 30 percent in 2025.
However, competition with cheaper offerings from Chinese rivals and concerns about slowing growth in electric vehicle sales have weighed on the market over the past year.
Tesla has also been involved in its CEO's political activism. Musk Spent more than $250 million To support the successful election campaign of Donald Trump and became one of the President-elect's closest advisors. Trump has appointed Musk to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency aimed at finding ways to reduce US federal spending.
Tesla shares have skyrocketed since the November election, as investors saw the benefits of Musk's close relationship with Trump. But the company also faces political uncertainty with California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, suggesting that Tesla may miss out on lucrative tax cuts the state is considering for electric vehicles.
With its complex supply chain and close trade ties with China, Tesla is also unlikely to avoid the effects of the wide-ranging tariffs Trump has threatened against goods imported into the United States.
As his political influence increases, Musk has also made a strategic pivot toward self-driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics, predicting that these technologies will soon become Tesla's main revenue sources and drive up its valuation.
The company aims to start producing the self-driving Cybercab before the beginning of 2027. The model will cost about $25,000, when government electric vehicle incentives are deducted.
In October, Musk confirmed that Tesla was not developing the long-awaited, affordable $25,000 Model 2. The company told investors in December that it would launch a new model in the first half priced at less than $30,000 including subsidies or $37,499 without them.
