After Disastrous First-Quarter Sales, Tesla's Stock Is Down 36% This Year. It Can Go Lower
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been under a microscope this year. The big question had consistently been about what first-quarter deliveries would look like. Multiple reports suggested it could be a rocky quarter for Tesla, and analysts lowered their estimates. However, Tesla's first-quarter deliveries of just under 337,000 in the first quarter came in below Wall Street's estimates. Deliveries fell 13% year over year and came in at the lowest levels seen since 2022. Rising competition and the negative impact of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appear to have been the main culprits. Regardless, the stock is down over 35% this year (as of April 4), but it can keep going lower. Here's why.Tesla's core business is making and selling electric vehicles, and this business seems to be feeling the heat. As electric vehicle sales have seemingly been on the rise, Tesla has seen sales fall in Europe and China. Some of this can certainly be attributed to rising competition in the EV space. For instance, the Chinese electric carmaker BYD seems to be giving Tesla a run for its money. The company boasts faster charging technology and a much cheaper vehicle. In 2024, BYD sold 32% of new EV sales in China, compared to Tesla at slightly over 6%.However, the other big elephant in the room is Musk's role with DOGE and growing outspokenness in the political arena. At first, it was difficult to gauge the impact. But analysts and top investors are increasingly convinced that Musk's role with DOGE and frequent posts about politics have played a role in the negative performance.Continue reading
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been under a microscope this year. The big question had consistently been about what first-quarter deliveries would look like. Multiple reports suggested it could be a rocky quarter for Tesla, and analysts lowered their estimates. However, Tesla's first-quarter deliveries of just under 337,000 in the first quarter came in below Wall Street's estimates. Deliveries fell 13% year over year and came in at the lowest levels seen since 2022. Rising competition and the negative impact of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appear to have been the main culprits. Regardless, the stock is down over 35% this year (as of April 4), but it can keep going lower. Here's why.
Tesla's core business is making and selling electric vehicles, and this business seems to be feeling the heat. As electric vehicle sales have seemingly been on the rise, Tesla has seen sales fall in Europe and China. Some of this can certainly be attributed to rising competition in the EV space. For instance, the Chinese electric carmaker BYD seems to be giving Tesla a run for its money. The company boasts faster charging technology and a much cheaper vehicle. In 2024, BYD sold 32% of new EV sales in China, compared to Tesla at slightly over 6%.
However, the other big elephant in the room is Musk's role with DOGE and growing outspokenness in the political arena. At first, it was difficult to gauge the impact. But analysts and top investors are increasingly convinced that Musk's role with DOGE and frequent posts about politics have played a role in the negative performance.
