Tesla Inc reported its first fall in yearly deliveries yesterday as lucrative year-end incentives for the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) maker's aging lineup and the new Cybertruck pickup failed to lure customers wary of high borrowing costs.
Musk had earlier predicted "slight growth" in last year's deliveries and offered a range of promotions including interest-free financing and free fast-charging to boost sales.
But reduced European subsidies, a shift in the US toward lower-priced hybrid vehicles and tougher competition especially from China's BYD Co (比亞迪) hurt Tesla.
Photo: Reuters
The US EV maker's shares closed about 6 percent lower.
"Lower deliveries reduces Tesla's growth and lowers the total addressable market for the company's ancillary services, including autonomous driving software, charging, and insurance," Morningstar Inc analyst Seth Goldstein said in a note.
"The slight decline highlights that the current vehicle lineup is nearing market saturation," he added.
As demand for EVs slows, Musk has pivoted his focus on building a self-driving taxi business that is expected to boost Tesla's value.
He also backed US president-elect Donald Trump with millions of dollars in campaign donations and analysts expect easier regulations from the new administration to help Tesla in the long run.
But with self-driving technology still under development and years away from commercialization, analysts have said Tesla would have to rely on its promised cheaper versions of current cars and the success of Cybertruck to achieve Musk's target of 20 percent to 30 percent sales growth this year.
The truck, known for its futuristic design, has been showing signs of weakness in demand. Tesla is yet to disclose the delivery numbers for its Cybertruck.
Tesla is also under pressure from legacy automakers. Its October registrations in Europe fell 24 percent, due to a tight race from Volkswagen Group, whose Skoda Enyaq SUV dethroned Tesla's Model Y as the best-selling EV in the region, according to data research firm JATO Dynamics.
The company said yesterday that it handed over 471,930 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and 23,640 units of other models, including the Model S sedan, Cybertruck and Model X premium SUV.
Overall, Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles in the three months to Dec. 31, missing estimates of 503,269 units, according to 15 analysts polled by LSEG Group. It produced 459,445 vehicles in the period, down about 7 percent from a year earlier.
Deliveries totaled 1.79 million last year, 1.1 percenbt lower than the prior year and below estimates of 1.806 million units, according to 19 analysts polled by LSEG.
Tesla's deliveries last year were ahead of BYD, which reported a 12.1 percent rise in sales of battery-electric vehicles to 1.76 million, thanks to competitive prices and a stronger push into Asian and European markets.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS