(Credit: Tesla)
Tesla released its first quarter vehicle delivery numbers, and it's not a pretty picture.
The EV maker delivered 336,681 vehicles, which may sound like a lot, but the numbers are down 13% from Q1 2024 and over 20% from Q1 2023. Tesla stock has also taken a major hit, though what stocks haven't with the major tariffs coming out of the White House?
Other EV makers are faring better. General Motors' EV sales are up 94% in Q1, thanks to its electric Equinox and Blazer. The company says it had the best first-quarter sales since 2018.
Tesla's lineup choices over the past few years have left it vulnerable to a sales decline. Around 95% of Tesla deliveries are for the Model 3 and Model Y, its most affordable options. But rather than launching another mass-market model, Tesla went with the pricey Cybertruck and killed its plans to make a $25,000 electric car.
Tesla released a refreshed Model Y at the end of March; the numbers released this week likely don't provide a full picture of sales for that model. During Q1, a changeover of Model Y lines at four factories led to a production loss of several weeks, though Tesla says, "the ramp of the New Model Y continues to go well." Tesla will post its Q1 financial results on April 22.
A brand-new model would likely energize shoppers (at least those who are not boycotting Tesla). However, Musk now seems more interested in autonomous driving. Tesla is set to launch a robotaxi service in Austin in June—a risky, cash-intensive endeavor that will take years to pay off.
Musk says his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been "disadvantageous" for his businesses, Business Insider reports. Musk's seemingly unfettered access to government agencies and DOGE's haphazard cuts have spurred worldwide protests and vandalism at Tesla dealers. Over 200 Tesla protests took place last Friday, CNN reports. President Trump labeled the vandalism an act of domestic terrorism and threatened to send anyone who did it to a prison in El Salvador.
Rival EV brands are taking advantage of people's discontent with Musk by offering discounts to Tesla drivers if they switch brands—$5,000 from Polestar and $2,000 from Lucid.
Musk hinted that he would quit DOGE by the end of next month, saying in an interview last week that he "will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars" at the end of his 130-day "special government employee" appointment.
This week, Politico reported that some in the Trump administration have become frustrated with Musk's unpredictability and view him as a political liability. "Trump remains pleased w/ Musk & DOGE, but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role," reporter Rachael Bade tweeted.
On X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the report "garbage." Musk added: "Yeah, fake news."