Tesla is coming off one of its most disappointing first delivery quarters in a long time, and the company is blaming part of the blame on an arson attack at its factory in Germany and shipment disruptions caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Tesla said Tuesday it delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down 20% from the 484,507 delivered in the final quarter of 2023. Importantly, Tesla shipped fewer cars than in the first quarter of 2023, meaning that This is the first quarter of 2023. first year-over-year sales decline in three years.
Production also declined year over year, which Tesla attributed to the shift to manufacturing the new Model 3, as well as other disruptions. The arson closed the German factory for almost a week and Tesla suspended production there for two weeks in January due to the problems in the Red Sea. The company’s shares fell more than 6% in early trading.
The declines come just two months after Tesla warned that sales growth could be “significantly lower” in 2024, following a successful 2023 fueled by price cuts. The company said in January that it was “between two major growth waves” as it tried to ramp up production of the Cybertruck. It also has a less expensive electric vehicle in the works, although plans have already changed, and the company said it is trying to create an entirely new manufacturing process to reduce costs.
The company also faces growing competition in China, where companies large and small are flooding the market with low-cost electric vehicles. Bloomberg News reported last month that Tesla had cut production at its Shanghai factory due to slowing sales growth in the country.
Tesla tried to pull a few tricks at the end of the quarter to boost sales, as it usually does. The company offered a free one-month trial of its advanced driver-assistance software (which it calls Full Self-Driving, even though it doesn’t make cars autonomous). It also announced for much of March that it would raise prices starting April 1.
This story has been updated to include more information on the Tesla factory closures.
techcrunch
