Author: Akash Sriram and Hyunjoo Jin
(Reuters) – Tesla’s June quarter deliveries likely fell 6%, marking the top electric car maker’s first consecutive quarterly declines as it faces stiff competition from China and a lack of affordability Demand for new models has slowed.
The company expects to deliver 438,019 vehicles in the April-June period, based on the average estimate of forecasts from 12 analysts surveyed by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), with seven analysts reporting significant increases in the past three months. Expectations lowered. The electric car maker is expected to report results on Tuesday.
Tesla (NASDAQ: Tesla ) has begun to slow down after years of rapid growth to become the world’s most valuable automaker. The company warned in January that delivery growth would be “significantly lower” in 2024 as the boost from months-long price cuts fades.
Adding to the problem, consumers’ shift to cheaper gasoline-electric hybrids has left Tesla with a growing inventory of vehicles that the company is trying to shift through price cuts and incentives, including cheaper financing options and leases. car.
Earlier this year, Chief Executive Musk shelved plans to build new, cheaper electric cars and shifted Tesla’s focus to robotaxis, raising concerns among some investors that self-driving technology would be difficult to Complete. Still, investors voted overwhelmingly in favor of his record $56 billion pay package at last month’s annual shareholder meeting.
Barclays analyst Dan Levy predicts Tesla’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries will fall by 11%, which would be the largest decline in history. “The weak delivery results may refocus attention on Tesla’s current challenging underlying environment,” he said.
Despite Musk’s prediction in April that Tesla would be able to increase sales this year, Tesla’s stock price has fallen by a quarter this year, making it one of the worst-performing stocks on the stock market. He cut costs, including massive layoffs, that weakened Tesla’s Supercharger team.
Tesla shares closed up 6.1% on Monday after Chinese automakers including BYD reported strong second-quarter sales.
old design
Some analysts expect the company’s sales to fall for the first time this year. Car deliveries fell the most in nearly four years between January and March, missing Wall Street expectations.
Tesla sales have been particularly weak in Europe, where sales fell 36% in May due to reduced subsidies for electric vehicles and weak demand from fleet operators, which accounted for nearly half of sales in the region last year.
Reuters reported in May that Tesla was trying to appease some European leasing companies after repeated cuts in retail prices caused a sharp decline in the value of its fleet, and slow service and expensive repairs alienated corporate customers.
Tesla has been slow to bring new designs to market as Chinese rivals roll out cheaper models. In April, Musk said Tesla would launch “new models” later this year, including affordable cars, but gave no details on pricing.
Tesla updated its Model 3 sedan late last year without making major design changes. Its best-selling Model Y SUV, Model S sedan and Model X SUV have not seen major changes in years.
The company began delivering the Cybertruck late last year, but Musk doesn’t expect mass production of the vehicle until 2025.
In May, Tesla omitted its goal of delivering 20 million vehicles per year by 2030 in its latest impact report, a major change after years of touting a long-term annual growth target of 50% in electric vehicle deliveries.
Tesla is expected to launch robotaxis on August 8 to promote the adoption of its “full self-driving” software. But it’s unclear when production will begin or how much will be produced.
