Tesla Faces ‘Seminal Moment,’ Could Be Darker Days Ahead: Dan Ives

This is the first time since 2020 that Tesla has seen a year-over-year decline in quarterly deliveries. Tesla shares fell more than 5% following the news and have fallen nearly 30% over the past year.

“Let’s call it this: While we expected a bad first quarter, this first quarter was an absolute disaster that’s hard to explain,” wrote Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. “We view this as a pivotal moment in Tesla’s history for Musk to turn things around and reverse the black eye’s first-quarter performance. Otherwise, darker days could clearly be ahead and could disrupt Tesla’s long-term story.”

In a statement, Tesla attributes the drop in deliveries to its production ramp for its Updated Model 3A arson at its Gigafactory in Berlin at its Berlin factory and supply chain issues resulting from the Red Sea conflict.

Ives, however, remains bullish on Tesla over the long term and maintains an outperform rating. He joined CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday to talk about what it would take for Tesla to turn things around.

“You have to weigh the strategy,” Ives said. “What will the price cuts look like, when will the new models arrive, what percentage of software revenue could be, what is the roadmap for AI? For now, it’s about basically playing darts blindfolded.”

Slowing demand for electric vehicles has contributed to declining EV sales for many automakers, including Tesla, which has also struggled to withstand competition from BYD in the Chinese market.

Tesla has repeatedly cut prices to try to increase sales, and Musk is now asking Tesla employees to give new customers trial demonstrations of its latest fully autonomous driving software, which car owners can buy as an add-on for $199 per month or $12,000.

In the United States, Tesla is also losing potential customers due to Musk’s polarizing behavior. In a recent report The number of respondents who said they would consider buying a Tesla fell to 31% in February, compared to 70% in November 2021, according to market intelligence firm Caliber.