A Tesla charging station, in Burbank (California) on January 16, 2024 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/MARIO TAMA)
The American automobile manufacturer Tesla delivered fewer vehicles in the first quarter than in the same period of the previous year, and in quantities lower than market expectations, which caused its stock to fall on the New York Stock Exchange.
The electric vehicle specialist delivered 386,810 vehicles in total, compared to the 457,000 expected by analyst consensus. Its production also fell to 433,371 (-8.5%).
“The drop in volumes is partly due to the initial production phases of the new version of the Model 3 at our Fremont factory,” in California, the group explained in a press release.
A Tesla Model Y parked in front of the group’s factory in Gruenheide (Germany), March 13, 2024 (AFP/Archives/Odd ANDERSEN)
According to him, it also stems from delivery problems linked to the conflict in the Red Sea, with missile attacks by the Houthis on ships, and sabotage in its factory in Germany.
A small far-left group claimed responsibility for the fire on an electricity pylon in March which shut down this factory located near Berlin, Tesla’s only production site in Europe, for several days.
Around 3:15 p.m. GMT, Tesla shares lost 5.92 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tesla electric cars being recharged, in Burbank (California) on January 16, 2024 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives/MARIO TAMA)
But the group does not mention China, where it nevertheless faces strong competition from local manufacturers, in particular BYD which snatched the title of largest global seller of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“Disastrous first quarter”, headlined the note from Wedbush analysts, after this announcement from Tesla which “negatively shocked” the market.
– “Highlight moment” –
“Let’s be honest: although we anticipate a bad quarter, this is an absolute disaster in the first quarter that is difficult to explain,” they say.
“We consider this a flagship moment in the history of Tesla”, when its boss Elon Musk must work to “reverse” this poor performance otherwise “darker days could present themselves and could affect Tesla in the long term “, they warn.
Tesla specifies that it sold 369,783 Model 3 and Model Y units in the first quarter and 17,027 units of its other models.
Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup trucks, outside the Austin (Texas) factory on November 30, 2023 (AFP/Archives/SUZANNE CORDEIRO)
In 2023, the group implemented price cuts in the United States to, Elon Musk explained in particular, make its vehicles more affordable in a context of high inflation and rising interest rates.
But Tesla indicated in mid-March on its website that it would be necessary to pay a thousand dollars more from April 1 for the purchase of a Model Y.
However, the manufacturer did not give any indication on Tuesday about the latest addition to its catalog, the futuristic Cybertruck pick-up, the first examples of which were delivered to their owners in November after a prolonged wait. The base price is $57,390.
For its part, the start-up Rivian announced production of 13,980 vehicles at its factory in Normal, Illinois, and the delivery of 13,588 vehicles over the first three months of the year.
The R2, the latest from the start-up Rivian during its presentation in Laguna Beach (California) on March 7, 2024 (AFP/Archives/Patrick T. Fallon)
It saw its deliveries drop by 10% to 13,972 vehicles in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous quarter.
In March it presented two new electric vehicles, called R2 and R3, the first – an SUV – is announced for 2026 at a price significantly lower than the R1 model currently available.
Rivian confirmed on Monday its production forecast of 57,000 vehicles in 2024, after 57,232 the previous year. The manufacturer delivered 50,122 vehicles in 2023, but did not provide a forecast for 2024.
© 2024 AFP
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