Last quarter, Tesla had delivery difficulties, delivering only 386,810 vehicles, a 20% decrease from the previous quarter and an 8.5% decrease from the previous year. Given Tesla's pivotal position in the electric vehicle industry, the company's sales decline has also dragged down overall electric vehicle sales, especially in the US market.
In the first quarter, Tesla encountered some practical problems that affected production, such as the production line transformation and upgrade of Tesla's Fremont factory to increase production of the new Model 3; in addition, the Berlin Super Factory was also suspended due to supply chain problems.
However, the 46,000-car difference between production and deliveries last quarter suggests that Tesla has a demand problem. Now, with the second quarter coming to an end, the market is paying more attention to Tesla's earnings report next week.
Wall Street's consensus estimate for Tesla's second-quarter deliveries is 450,000 vehicles, down from 466,000 vehicles in the same period last year. More seriously, as analysts continue to adjust their expectations, the recent expectations have been lower than the original forecast of 450,000 vehicles, which indicates that Tesla's delivery expectations may be further reduced this week.
The European market seems to be a major problem for Tesla this year. According to data from the registration tracker, Tesla's deliveries this year have fallen by more than 60,000 vehicles compared with the record year in 2023. Since most of the difference occurred in the past few months, Tesla will have a very difficult second quarter in the European market.
The situation in the US market is relatively opaque. Tesla has also implemented incentives in the United States, and most recently, the Model 3 Long Range version recently received a federal tax credit, which may help narrow the gap between delivery expectations and actual sales.