Tesla sales tumble 13% as Musk backlash, competition and aging lineup
turn off buyers
[April 03, 2025] By
BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three months of the
year, another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying car company is
struggling to attract buyers.
The leading electric vehicle maker has faced a growing backlash from
Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics and his role in the Trump
administration. Opponents have staged protests at Tesla showrooms in the
U.S. and in Europe, where the sales declines have been steeper.
Tesla’s line-up is aging, and some consumers may have held off from
buying its bestselling Model Y while waiting for an updated version. The
Austin, Texas, company also faces fierce competition from other EV
makers offering vastly improved models, including those of China’s BYD.
Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March
quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a
year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and
other incentives and could be a warning that the company’s first-quarter
earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.
Dan Ives of Wedbush said Wall Street financial analysts knew the first
quarter was likely bad, but turned out even worse than expected. He
called the sales results a “disaster on every metric.”
“The brand crisis issues are clearly having a negative impact on
Tesla...there is no debate,” he said.
Musk has been President Donald Trump’s point man in his effort to cut
government spending. As criticism of Musk mounted and Tesla’s sales and
stock price slumped, Trump last month held an extraordinary press
conference outside the White House in which he praised Tesla, blasted
boycotts against the company and bought a Tesla himself while TV cameras
rolled.

Tesla investors have complained Musk's work at the Department of
Government Efficiency has diverted his focus from running Tesla. On
Tuesday, New York City’s comptroller overseeing pension funds holding
Tesla stock called for a lawsuit accusing a distracted Musk of “driving
Tesla off a financial cliff.”
After falling as much as 6% in early Wednesday, Tesla stock shot up more
than 5% on indications that Musk may soon return his attention to Tesla.
Politico, citing anonymous sources, reported Trump has told Cabinet
members that Musk will step back from his role at DOGE in coming weeks.
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Officers from Ottawa Police Service (OPS) are seen at a Tesla
Service and Showroom centre after it was damaged with pink spray
paint in Ottawa, on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The
Canadian Press via AP)
 Tesla’s stock has plunged by roughly
half since hitting a mid-December record as expectations of a
lighter regulatory touch and big profits with Donald Trump as
president were replaced by fear that the boycott of Musk's cars and
other problems could hit the company hard. Analysts are still not
sure exactly how much the fall in sales is due to the protests or
other factors.
Still, even bullish financial analysts who earlier
downplayed the backlash to Musk’s polarizing political stances are
saying it is hurting the company, something that Musk also recently
acknowledged.
“This is a very expensive job,” Musk said at a Wisconsin rally on
Sunday, referring to his DOGE role. “My Tesla stock and the stock of
everyone who holds Tesla has gone roughly in half."
Tesla cars have been smashed and set on fire in recent weeks, and
protests have been staged at hundreds of Tesla dealerships. Owners
have put bumper stickers on their cars saying, “I bought this before
Elon went crazy.”
Europeans have also balked at buying Tesla, especially Germans upset
after Musk publicly supported a far-right party in national
elections and gave what many say was a Nazi-like salute at a Trump
inauguration rally in January.
Tesla is expected to report earnings of 48 cents per share for the
first quarter later this month, up 7% from a year earlier, according
to a survey of financial analysts by research firm FactSet.
Nearly all of Tesla’s sales in the quarter came from the smaller and
less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling less than
13,000 more expensive models, which include X and S as well as the
Cybertruck.
____
AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman contributed to this report from
New York.
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