Tesla's first-quarter deliveries fall, its share price plummets
American carmaker Tesla delivered fewer vehicles in the first quarter than in the same period last year, and in quantities below market expectations, sending its shares tumbling on the New York Stock Exchange.
The electric vehicle specialist delivered a total of 386,810 vehicles, against the 457,000 expected by analysts' consensus. Production was also down, at 433,371 (-8.5%).
"The drop in volumes is due in part to the initial production phases of the new version of the Model 3 at our Fremont plant", in California, the group explained in a statement.
According to the group, it also stems from shipping problems linked to the conflict in the Red Sea, with the Houthis firing missiles at ships, and from sabotage at its plant in Germany.
A far-left group claimed responsibility for the fire on an electricity pylon in March, which brought the factory near Berlin, Tesla's only production site in Europe, to a standstill for several days.
At around 10.15 am, Tesla's share price was down 4.85 on the New York Stock Exchange.
But the Group makes no mention of China, where it faces stiff competition from local automakers, in particular BYD, which has overtaken it as the world's biggest seller of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
"Disastrous first quarter", was the headline on Wedbush's analysts' note, after Tesla's announcement had "negatively shocked" the market.
"Let's be frank: although we were anticipating a bad quarter, this was an absolute catastrophe in the first quarter that is hard to explain," they say.
"We see this as a landmark moment in Tesla's history," when its boss Elon Musk must work to "reverse" this underperformance or else "darker days could lie ahead and could affect Tesla in the long term", they warn.
