The company cited the “loss of several weeks of production” as it ramped up upgrades for its Model Y. Following the announcement, Tesla shares dropped over six percent in early trading before partially recovering
By Titilope Adako
Tesla has reported a 13 percent drop in first-quarter vehicle sales, attributing the decline to production disruptions caused by factory upgrades and public backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s ties to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The electric carmaker delivered 336,681 vehicles in the quarter ending March 31, missing analysts’ expectations.
The company cited the “loss of several weeks of production” as it ramped up upgrades for its Model Y. Following the announcement, Tesla shares dropped over six percent in early trading before partially recovering.
Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities described the figures as “a disaster on every metric.”
He warned that Musk’s growing political involvement was damaging Tesla’s brand, stating, “The more political he gets, the more the brand suffers. This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla.”
Tesla did not provide a sales breakdown by country, but reports indicate significant declines in Europe.
In March alone, sales dropped by more than one-third in France and nearly two-thirds in Sweden. Denmark saw a 56 percent decline in Tesla sales during the quarter.
The poor performance has intensified scrutiny over Musk’s leadership, with some shareholders, including Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, calling for his removal as CEO.
“These numbers suck. The Cybertruck is basically not selling. The brand is broken and may not be fixable,” Gerber posted on social media.
Meanwhile, Tesla has been struggling with Cybertruck sales after recalling nearly all units due to a defect that could cause an exterior panel to detach, creating a crash hazard.
By 14:40 GMT, Tesla shares were down 2.7 percent.
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