In just ten years, Tesla has gone from a small electric car startup to a major player in the automotive sector. In 2023, the brand will have sold just over 1.8 million electric vehicles, or around 30% of its sales since its debut, for YoY sales growth of 38%.
But Tesla’s rapid sales growth, which the brand hoped to maintain at 50% each year, no longer appears to be Elon Musk’s priority. The businessman notably stopped the production project of the one nicknamed “Model 2”, in favor of a Robotaxi version only, with lower expected sales volumes.
Autonomous driving trumps sales growth
Of course, Tesla still promises to offer more accessible electric cars than its Model 3 and Model Y, but the priority now is autonomous driving. A direction all the more surprising as it leaves room for Chinese manufacturers to develop in the market of affordable electric cars, which they have made their specialty.
A new sign that Tesla has lowered its sales growth ambitions, its latest impact report for 2023 no longer contains a sales target. For the years 2021 and 2022, however, it set a very ambitious objective: to sell 20 million vehicles per year in 2030, almost as much as the combined sales of the Toyota and Volkswagen groups in 2023.
Of course, Tesla still hopes to continue its financial growth. If the manufacturer manages to put truly autonomous taxis on the road, it will be able to generate very significant revenues, but the task promises to be difficult.