Tesla Q1 deliveries seen rebounding nearly 10% from year-ago slump

(Reuters) – Tesla’s first-quarter deliveries are expected to climb nearly 10% from ​a year-earlier slump, when a major backlash against Elon ‌Musk’s far-right political rhetoric weighed heavily on sales.

The Elon Musk-led EV maker is expected to report deliveries before the markets open on Thursday.

  • Analysts ​polled by Visible Alpha expect Tesla to deliver ​about 368,900 vehicles in the January–March period, representing a ⁠sequential decline of 11.8% but growth of 9.6% from a ​year earlier, when a major backlash against Musk’s far-right political ​rhetoric hurt sales
  • The average of 23 estimates compiled by Tesla is 365,645 units
  • Intensifying competition in Europe and China and the expiry of a $7,500 ​federal tax credit in the U.S. on EV purchases in ​September weigh on demand
  • New registrations of Tesla cars tripled in France in ‌March, ⁠just shy of a two-year-old record high, and more than doubled in the Nordic countries, data showed on Wednesday
  • While Wall Street estimates still point to modest growth this year, sentiment ​has shifted notably ​in recent ⁠months, with some analysts expecting a decline
  • Analysts expect deliveries of 1.7 million vehicles this year, and ​1.84 million units in 2027, according to Visible ​Alpha ⁠data
  • Tesla is increasingly shifting its focus beyond electric vehicles, placing bets on solar energy, humanoid robots, and autonomous robotaxis as the ⁠next ​pillars of its business.

The stacked column chart shows the global sales of fully electric and plugged-in hybrid passenger cars in China, Europe and the UK, US and Canada and the rest of the world.
The stacked column chart shows the global sales of fully electric and plugged-in hybrid passenger cars in China, Europe and the UK, US and Canada and the rest of the world.

Reporting by Akash Sriram in ​Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D’Silva