Tesla Reports Sales Drop in 2024, First Time in Years

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The company is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year financials on Jan. 29.

Tesla Inc., the leading electric vehicle (EV) maker in the United States, reported a rare annual decline in vehicle deliveries in 2024.

On Jan. 2, the Texas-based technology company issued a quarterly report on its production and deliveries covering the final three months of 2024. That report said the company delivered 495,570 vehicles during the quarter, bringing annual deliveries to about 1.789 million units. However, that was a drop from the about 1.81 million units it delivered in 2023.

The annual decline was the first observed in the past nine years. In an investor note, a team of analysts at Truist Securities led by William Stein, a semiconductor and artificial intelligence equity research analyst at Truist Securities, said the delivery total was slightly below Wall Street’s expectations.

The Jan. 2 delivery report led Truist to adjust its price target for Tesla stock to $351 a share from $360. It maintained a “hold” rating on the asset. Stein and his co-authors said they anticipate that the average selling price of Tesla vehicles will “continue facing downward pressure.”

In the Thursday note, Stein and his co-authors said they “anticipate Tesla will continue to flex pricing to stimulate demand.”

Tesla was reportedly already rolling out steep discounts for some of its vehicles at the end of 2024.

The Thursday release said Tesla is set to release its fourth-quarter earnings report on Jan. 29.

In its third-quarter earnings release published on Oct. 24, 2024, Tesla said it had earned a net income—or profit—of $4.821 billion through the first nine months of 2024. That was a significant dip from the $7.031 billion it reported in the first nine months of 2023.

Representatives of Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Tesla is the leading EV brand in the United States in terms of market share. The company’s vehicles accounted for about 49 percent of all battery-powered EV sales in the third quarter of 2024, according to the administration.

Thursday’s delivery report shook investor confidence in Tesla as measured by the company’s stock price. As of about midday, the value of Tesla’s stock had fallen by more than 5 percent, to $382.15 from an open of $390.66.

Nevertheless, Tesla’s stock has nearly doubled in value over the past six months. The bear run peaked in December 2024, when the stock traded for as much as $479.12 a share. The biggest gains came in the weeks after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

While the automotive industry, both in the United States and abroad, is gearing up its EV production to both meet forecasted demand and comply with forthcoming environmental regulations, U.S. consumers are still deeply skeptical about EVs. The Epoch Times previously reported that EVs were significantly more expensive than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles at a time when most Americans could not afford a new or used vehicle. In addition, American drivers are worried that EVs do not have the same range or reliability as ICE vehicles.

The EV segment could be in for a rough road with the Trump administration, too. The incoming president has promised to reverse many of President Joe Biden’s policies concerning EVs, but no specific actions have been announced yet. Biden-era policies, including a tax rebate program, were viewed as helpful in getting Americans behind the wheel of an EV.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, long outspoken on various financial and technological matters, has become close to the incoming president in the past six months.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Musk was the Trump campaign’s largest individual donor. Through his super political action committee, America PAC, and other channels, Musk poured at least $238.5 million into the 2024 election. Federal disclosure indicates most of that money went toward boosting Trump.

Musk, born in South Africa, may well have a position in the Trump government, too. He, along with former Republican Party presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is set to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, focused on improving government efficiency, reducing waste, and cutting excess regulation.

At least one investor is concerned that Musk, who also leads social media company X Corp. and aeronautics company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., isn’t spending enough time leading Tesla.

In late December, Ross Gerber, president of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that “Tesla shareholders are more than aware that their CEO works for Donald Trump at this point.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.