Tesla global deliveries are the lowest since the second quarter of 2022.
The Wall Street Journal reports Tesla’s Global Vehicle Deliveries Sank 13% in First Quarter
Global vehicle deliveries fell 13% in the first quarter from a year ago, further evidence that a growing consumer backlash against the brand and Chief Executive Elon Musk is hurting the automaker’s business.
The final quarterly tally of 336,681 missed analysts’ expectations of 396,960 deliveries, according to Visible Alpha.
Recent surveys have shown an erosion in the brand’s appeal, especially among Democrats in the U.S. Some Wall Street analysts have downgraded Tesla shares based in part on the growing animosity for the brand.
Global vehicle deliveries were weighed down by significant declines in some of Tesla’s biggest markets, data from governments and research firms show. The company doesn’t break out regional results.
Sales from Tesla China, which exports to foreign markets, fell 49% in February but fared better in March after it started delivering the refreshed Model Y in China, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The company sold 78,828 China-made vehicles in the month, down 11% from the same period last year.
Despite the decline, Tesla climbed back into third place by sales in the Chinese car market, after dropping out of the top five in February.
In Germany, home to Tesla’s European factory, new-vehicle registrations fell 76.3% in February compared with the same period last year, according to the country’s Motor Transport Authority.
In the U.S., sales fell 2% in the first two months of the year, according to research firm Wards Intelligence.
U.S. sales results posted by major automakers on Tuesday were mixed. General Motors and Hyundai Motor had strong gains—up 17% and 11%, respectively—while Ford Motor’s sales fell 1% and Jeep maker Stellantis’s deliveries dropped 12%.
Last year, Tesla reported its first annual decline in deliveries in more than a decade, with global deliveries falling 1%. While a surge of promotional deals grew sales in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to make up for significant declines in the first half of the year.
In California, where Teslas are among the bestselling vehicles, new vehicle registrations of Teslas fell 11.6% in the state in 2024.
Musk has sought to refocus investor attention away from car sales and onto its driver-assistance software, which it calls Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and its Optimus humanoid robot—technologies he has claimed could one day boost the automaker’s market value to as high as $30 trillion. The development of those innovations is still largely funded by Tesla’s car business.
Some Wall Street analysts say Musk’s proximity to Trump will aid the CEO’s businesses, including through federal regulations that simplify Tesla’s path to deploying autonomous vehicles nationwide.
“In our view, Tesla’s softer auto deliveries are emblematic of a company in the transition from an automotive ‘pure play’ to a highly diversified play on AI and robotics,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote on March 20.
Tesla has said that it plans to start offering autonomous ride-hailing services in June near its headquarters in Austin, Texas, and that it plans to roll out a similar service in California by the end of the year.
How Much Better Is Waymo than Tesla at Self Driving?
That’s the question I asked Grok, Musk’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) application.
Grok responded …
The comparison between Waymo and Tesla’s self-driving technologies involves several nuanced aspects, including their approaches, capabilities, and operational metrics. Here’s a detailed look at how they differ:
Technology and Approach:
- Waymo uses a combination of sensors including lidar, radar, and cameras, which allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the environment. This multi-sensor approach enables Waymo vehicles to operate driverlessly in specific, pre-mapped areas. Waymo’s technology is known for its reliability in complex urban environments where it has high-definition maps and can leverage remote operators for support if needed.
- Tesla, on the other hand, primarily relies on camera-based vision technology with no lidar, focusing on a vision-only approach for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. This approach aims at scalability and lower hardware costs but has been criticized for inconsistent performance in varied scenarios and weather conditions.
Performance Metrics:
- Waymo has demonstrated a higher level of autonomy in real-world operations, with vehicles going thousands of miles without human intervention in geofenced areas. Their system has been noted for fewer disengagements (when a human driver must take control), with statistics showing Waymo vehicles traveling significantly between interventions compared to Tesla’s FSD.
- Tesla’s FSD is still considered a level 2 autonomy system, requiring constant driver supervision. While there are reports of Tesla FSD handling long drives with fewer interventions, these are under supervised conditions and not fully autonomous like Waymo’s operations. Tesla’s system has faced scrutiny for unexpected disengagements and safety concerns.
Scalability and Market Strategy:
- Waymo currently operates in limited geographic areas but with plans to expand. Their service model is focused on robotaxi services, initially in select cities, which might not scale as quickly as Tesla’s approach but aims for high reliability within those areas.
- Tesla touts the advantage of scaling its technology across its entire fleet of vehicles, which number in the millions, allowing for vast data collection for improving AI. However, this comes with the caveat that Tesla’s system is not yet capable of full driverless operation without supervision, unlike Waymo’s driverless taxis.
Public Perception and User Experience:
- Posts and discussions on platforms like X suggest a contrast in user experience. Some users praise Waymo for its smooth, confident driving in urban settings, while others critique Tesla’s FSD for not matching this level of autonomy or smoothness, though Tesla’s system is noted for its potential scalability and broader application.
In summary, Waymo currently outperforms Tesla in terms of actual driverless capability within its operational areas due to its use of advanced sensor technology and strategic deployment. However, Tesla’s approach might lead to broader market penetration and potentially lower costs if they can solve the reliability and safety issues associated with their vision-only system. The “better” aspect thus depends on the context: for immediate, reliable driverless service in specific areas, Waymo leads; for widespread potential and cost-effectiveness, Tesla holds promise but has significant ground to cover.
Waymo Picked Up 4 Million Rides in 2024, Tesla Had Zero
Ride-sharing companies are embracing Waymo’s autonomous vehicles. Where’s Tesla?
On January 7, 2025, I noted Waymo Picked Up 4 Million Rides in 2024, Tesla Had Zero
Grok: “Waymo uses a combination of sensors including lidar, radar, and cameras, which allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the environment.”
Grok: “Tesla’s FSD is still considered a level 2 autonomy system, requiring constant driver supervision. While there are reports of Tesla FSD handling long drives with fewer interventions, these are under supervised conditions and not fully autonomous like Waymo’s operations. Tesla’s system has faced scrutiny for unexpected disengagements and safety concerns.”
Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” is a comparative joke because it is not self driving at all. A driver must be present. Waymo is level 4 autonomy. Despite decades of promises Tesla is level 2.
Musk maintains that he can train cars by accumulating data so that they can go anywhere. That will not hold up in adverse conditions.
Robocars Did Arrive in 2024
2024 marks the beginning of the end of chauffeur-driven taxi and limo services.
For all the taunting I received about how autonomous driving would never work, robocars did arrive in 2023 with an enormous ramp in mid-2024.
My original estimate was 2022-2024. OK I was two years late if you see it that way. But this taxi ramp-up is way faster than I expected.
The end of chauffeur-driven taxi and limo services at major airports will soon arrive.
Elon hoisted by his own Grokian petard.
As a result of the recent weakness in its stock price, TSLA’s P/E ratio has dropped to 138.
This is still the most over-priced stock market in history – by far.
There will be jumpers. Lots of them.
Umm is nobody concerned that Waymo is a chinese company and therefore is tied to the Chinese Communist Party? Regular cars are coming with secret cell connections for dealers to track you. Now give that connection to an adversarial government? With the ability to take control your vehicle?
Am I the only one that sees that as a problem?
No. Waymo belongs to Alphabet.
ah, my bad. I got them mixed up with the electric cars.
Honestly I am shocked it was only 13%.
If anyone in the thread wanted to save the world from climate crisis by buying a Tesla but would now like to destroy that Tesla because it is a Nazi car, like Hitler’s Volks Wagon or “People’s Car”, climate crisis be damned, I will gladly help take it off your hands for a small fee. I apologize that I cannot help fix your mental health crisis too.
so brave
Definitely can’t help with your problems.
https://babylonbee.com/news/actual-nazi-struggling-to-stand-out-now-that-everyone-is-a-nazi/
“Polhaus still proudly displays his Nazi tattoos and clothing when he’s in town, but he noted that it doesn’t seem to turn heads like it used to in the good old days. “Now, I think everyone assumes I’m a victim of Left-wing vandalism. It’s sad.”
I wonder if Argentina’s release of real Nazi files will also be overshadowed by the re-imagined and wholly imaginary Nazis of today. Like Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty, for Democrats words mean exactly what they want them to mean. Like a Kamala speech. Having now fallen off the wall though, it would appear that all the King’s horses and all the King’s men …
A few people walk in LA, SF and Phoenix. Waymo is an expensive anti missile system with radars a lasers, but without the missiles, which are the cheapest. Gypsy cabs, NYC medallion cabs driven by new immigrants and Uber are cheaper and safer. Waymo is an attempt to test and foist military applications on naive people. add armor and better tires and u get an armored APC, which carry troops.
only fools cannot see what they are doing.
The Tesla reliance on only using regular cameras was a Musk mandate and IMO a huge misstep. Some of their earlier approaches used different kinds of sensors and were more effective. Cameras aren’t sufficiently like the human eye; Musk’s fatal error in decision making is his oversimplification of problems. He thinks if humans only need eyes to navigate, then the cars only need cameras.
Lidar in an environment with many other Lidar-using vehicles such as in heavy traffic, is subject to LIDAR interference that can confuse the autopilot. Visual is not subject to interference. It would be very easy to build a flashlight-type emitter that could be used to confuse a Lidar-equipped vehicle on purpose and send it off the road. You can’t fool visual light so easily.
This is precisely what I was thinking. If one or two cars navigate by Lidar, all is well, but imagine dozens. The signal bunces and scatters from objects, and the receiver should by definition be swamped.
Things that never seem to be mentioned in Tesla vs Waymo discussions:
Waymo might have scaling issues. But then, taxi service is probably their approach for exactly this reason. Nevertheless, Waymo has a working self-driver. The only question is full system build and operating cost. Waymo does not have the cost problem solved, or we’d see Waymo taxis deployed at flash-flood rates.
Tesla’s gob-of-cameras setup probably has a lower cost base.
Tesla’s approach of simply copying human drivers may hit a wall. If it does, then Tesla and the others using this approach go splat. If it does not, then the custom geo-fenced systems will become high-cost, niche players.
So, fun stuff.
This is the tip of the iceberg coming at Tesla regarding car sales.
China market is GONE…
European market is GONE!
Progressives in America? GONE!
How many converts from the conservative side will come to the dark side of the electric car? After bad mouthing EV’s for so long will Trumpers really cross over to the Dark Side? These same people have been complaining about the highly subsidized Muskmobile for a decade now and loudly denouncing EV’s in their local Ford and GM dealerships. Talk about a whipsaw in the spin ;-)))))
Truly a novel situation to observe!
Where’s my box of popcorn?
And don’t forget, BYD and VW are about to commercialize solid state batteries that weigh 30% less and charge enough for 400 miles in 8 minutes. Tesla is dated technology and needs a substantial update. Lets hope Musk has something up his sleeve as far as solid state batteries go in the reported update!
Yes… I have heard that he’s outdated. Everyone else is moving ahead technology wise. But, that’s not the only issues with his vehicles. Panels falling off, catching fire, trapping people inside… his vehicles are more memes than a good product.
Yes, it takes a special degree of hubris and arrogance to engage in brand destruction in which you are a substantial shareholder. DOH!
Then I urge you to short the stock if you feel this way.
This show deserve a special kind of popcorn.
– Global vehicle deliveries fell 13% in the first quarter from a year ago, further evidence that a growing consumer backlash against the brand and Chief Executive Elon Musk is hurting the automaker’s business.
> Actually it proves the opposite. 2025 started with Plug-In Vehicle Sales at around 19% of the Global Market. Way to go Musk and Company! Not a bad start to Q1/2025, in an over saturated market, chasing a ghost of sorts. China is broke and done with this craze for awhile. The U.S. is tapped out as a whole for the very expensive, and unsupported EV fad in America. Stay around 10%-13% for 2025, and they will be doing well imo.
– The final quarterly tally of 336,681 missed analysts’ expectations of 396,960 deliveries.
> One could/should say that the expectations were far too high.
– Recent surveys have shown an erosion in the brand’s appeal, especially among Democrats in the U.S.
> Recently they have also shown the brand’s appeal, especially among Republicans in the U.S.
– Some Wall Street analysts have downgraded Tesla shares.
> Others gave not downgraded Tesla at all.
– In Germany, home to Tesla’s European factory, new-vehicle registrations fell 76.3% in February.
> They also can’t sell their own German Cars in Germany and there was talk about closing there own plants. Sounds like Germany is hurting, and not Tesla.
>> These stories get old, as they slant one way at times, and focus on the negative, with little regard to other factors and positive happenings perhaps. Musk will be coming back soon, and that will add a boost. Car sales are down nearly everywhere, but things change fast, and Tesla is already focusing on the new roll out, and that could change everything. Who really knows…
Wait until the libs crack open a history book and see You Know Who being driven around in a Mercedes ~ 90 years ago.
Not to mention who is the founder of Volkswagen.
I am not worried about Tesla. Sales on all cars are down in Europe because Europe’s economy is in trouble. I am seeing more and more Teslas on the street here and the owners when you talk to them they love the car.
That’s what I see and hear. I have seen more new Tesla vehicles parading the streets than ever. I also notice, when peoples garages are open, the chargers in their homes, as well as small companies having them in the lot. I think the messaging of failure, is like most of their messaging these days, a total failure in messaging.
And Yes, the Owners Love Them!!!
The sales are still good. People love the car. I personally do not but sales go up and down. What other brands are down? Oh, just Tesla. Got it. Report on other brands Mish. Joan Fabrics? Hooters? You are trying to get a reaction which you did. You got it. Your “brand” goes up. You find reactionary topics and you get clicks and earn income off it. It’s fine. It’s still a good company though. Sales will go up if he improves the product. NGO’s burning his business however is not helping.
“Yves” (former McKinzie) leads the way at Naked Capitalism. Even former Alderman Burke of Chicago would blush at the propaganda.
wow, someone figured out how bloggers get paid. in 2025. same as it was 30 years ago. nice work sherlock. where is the WMD. in the largest tax increase in history? smoot trump border taxes ought to be a hoot. i’m just hoping r/e prices sink 50% or more.
no Teslas sales have grown consistently, and the stock os priced for growth, massive growth. A decline in sales is newsworthy, and it’s also newsworthy because it’s Musk. People caee about this more than Joan Fabrics.
I’m no fan of electric vehicles, but Elon Musk can manufacture a car for half the price of Detroit, Europe, or Japan. All it took was management and engineers with above DEI room temperature intelligence.
Trump Tariffs Hit Antarctic Islands Inhabited by Zero Humans and Many Penguins
The Heard and McDonald Islands are among the dozens of targets of President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs. But they have no exports, because no one lives there. https://www.wired.com/story/trump-tariffs-antarctic-islands-heard-mcdonald/
Are they protected, and if not, do they taste like chicken, and if so, I see a potential new market up for grabs…
I heard their flesh is very oily and not that good but starving explorers found them tasty.
At least they have a purpose, so they got that going for them…
Pick up a book on trade finance and read it. Trump closed all the loopholes, all of them.
might as well put a swastika for the new Tesla hood ornament………..appeals to some idiots in darkest parts of world……….
A thought from a good friend and a deep thinker. “Trump is trying hard to slide from Nationalist Conservative to Authoritarian Mercantilist. This lack of due process in deportations is nasty. And it’s anti-conservative and anti-civilization. Going farther back than Magna Carta, when we’ve been behaving ourselves, we’ve done habeas corpus and public hearings. “
This kind of talk will get you accidentally tossed into a Salvadoran mega prison. Oops! Why no, we can’t get him back now. Sorry.
i’ve got a get out of jail card for life. trust me i’m the last one worried. would be my payday really. and 15 minutes of fame for an old man.
When I was in the army in Greece in the 80s, the army was guarding the borders. Anyone who didn’t know the two passwords was to be shot. Similarly in all non-interconnected European countries at the time (to be shot or arrested and kept at the border office, if arresting forces were on the spot). And if anyone attempted to run through the guards at the port/airport checking points, even in West Germany, he would have gotten shot or arrested. What does Magna Carta say about that?
— I’m just trying to determine whether you have all gotten retrained to think that border crossings of unchecked millions is “typical and normal”.
It will come back in time. I had the pleasure of buying TSLA on 12/17, it’s all time high. I’ll be holding a good while I suppose but it will get to $800.
800 lira
NOW THIS RESEARCH WILL DO TO OTHER COUNTRIES
Baldwin Blasts Trump Administration for Stopping $65 Million for Alzheimer’s Disease ResearchNEW: Baldwin reveals that 14 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers have had funding halted due to Trump’s prohibition on NIH Advisory Council meetings https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-blasts-trump-administration-for-stopping-65-million-for-alzheimers-disease-research
We can fix Alzheimers by making it so difficult to survive that nobody reaches that age. Just another perk of the Golden Age we now live in.
The growth and pervasiveness of those proteins isn’t a symptom of old age.