Tesla’s sales in the first quarter of 2025 suffered a serious drop of 13% compared to the same period of the previous year. This is the company’s worst result in almost 3 years.
Tesla reported sales of 336,681 cars, which is a sharp decline compared to 386,810 units sold in the same period last year. This figure was even lower than analysts’ forecasts, who expected 372,410 cars sold, and this forecast has already been lowered.
The decline in sales was driven by several factors, including Tesla’s outdated model lineup and Elon Musk’s political activity in the US and Europe Sales in European countries and China are particularly weak despite the overall growth of the electric vehicle market. Musk’s support for right-wing political parties in Germany and other countries, as well as his role in reducing government spending in the United States caused massive protests. Vandals attack Tesla cars and car dealershipsand some owners even sell their cars to distance themselves from Musk’s image.
Interestingly, although the company’s shares fell on Wednesday, they unexpectedly recovered to $281.50 after the market opened. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called the quarterly results «a disaster by all accounts», although the stock market is behaving contrary to expectations.
What’s next?
Tesla has set an ambitious goal of 20-30% sales growth in 2025, but this forecast seems unlikely. The company plans to release a more affordable model at the end of this year, but details are still scarce. Meanwhile, Chinese rival BYD has overtaken Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. According to Counterpoint Research, BYD has a 15.7% market share, while Tesla has 15.3%.
Tesla continues to lose ground in France and Sweden, where sales have been falling for the third month in a row. Investors hope that the updated Model Y and new incentives for buyers will help restore demand and withstand competition from BYD, Volkswagen, and BMW.
Another failure – Cybertruckreleased in late 2023. It did not meet expectations, and the first buyers are facing quality issues. The company recently recalled almost all Cybertrucks sold due to a defect in the panels.
In addition to all the problems, the situation is complicated by new duties on imported cars, which Tesla predicts will have a «significant» impact on costs. The company also warns of possible reciprocal tariff sanctions. 2025 will be a challenging year for the entire automotive industry, but Tesla may be hit harder than many others.
Source: arenaev
