Tesla has announced a disappointing second quarter for vehicle deliveries, reporting 384,122 units delivered. This is a 13.5% decrease from the 443,956 vehicles delivered a year ago, placing the company firmly on track for its second consecutive year of annual sales decline.
The downturn is significantly influenced by an aging vehicle portfolio and the shadow cast by CEO Elon Musk’s public political stances. These factors are seen as directly impacting consumer demand and eroding brand appeal, even as the global EV market experiences steady growth.
The company’s stock has already felt the pressure, losing 25% of its value this year. Investors are increasingly concerned about brand damage in vital European and US markets, where Musk’s political alignments are believed to be deterring potential buyers. The highly publicized split between Trump and Musk in early June, which resulted in a massive $150 billion loss in market value, highlights the direct and significant financial impact of these public feuds.
Efforts to invigorate sales, such as the refresh of the Model Y, inadvertently led to production disruptions and encouraged some buyers to delay their purchases. Despite Musk’s earlier assurances of a sales turnaround, Wall Street analysts are largely predicting another annual sales decline for Tesla. The monumental task of delivering over a million units in the second half of the year to meet Musk’s growth targets appears increasingly unlikely.