Tesla reported a drop in deliveries for the first time in nearly four years and missed Wall Street estimates, a sign that the effects of the price cuts are waning as the automaker faces increasing competition and weaker demand.
Shares of Tesla are down nearly 30% so far this year, falling 5.7% in early trading on Tuesday.
The world’s most valuable carmaker transferred about 386,810 vehicles in the three months to March 31, down 20.2% from the previous quarter. 433,371 vehicles were produced during that period. According to 18 analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha, Wall Street on average expected Tesla to deliver 454,200 vehicles.
The electric carmaker’s deliveries fell 8.5% from a year ago. The last time sales fell was in the second quarter of 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the automaker to halt production.
The company said the decline in volumes was partly due to its efforts to prepare the Fremont plant in California to increase production of the updated Model 3 and to closures at the Berlin plant caused by diversions such as consequence of the Red Sea conflict and an arson in early Mars. A left-wing group has claimed responsibility for setting fire to a mast at the German factory, which produces half a million vehicles a year.
Tesla has faced stiff competition in China from local players, including market leader BYD – which overtook the US company as the largest EV manufacturer in the fourth quarter – and newcomer Xiaomi.
However, the Elon Musk-led company managed to stay ahead of BYD, which sold about 300,000 battery-electric vehicles in the quarter. Tesla delivered 369,783 Model 3 and Model Y, and approximately 17,000 units of other models, including the Model S sedan, Cybertruck and Model X premium SUV.
In January, Tesla also warned of “significantly lower” sales growth this year as it focuses on production of its next-generation electric car.
