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Competition · EV Sales · Stock Performance · Tesla
Tesla's vehicle sales increased 6% to 358,023 units in the first quarter, marking its first Q1 rise in three years, but this figure fell 6% short of financial analysts' expectations of 381,000 units, leading to a 3% drop in Tesla stock.
This modest recovery follows a "brutal year" of plunging sales, attributed to an aging product lineup and boycotts over CEO Elon Musk's political stances. The reported sales are significantly below the company's first-quarter peak of 423,000 vehicles in 2023.
Tesla also ceded its position as the world's largest electric vehicle maker to Chinese rival BYD at the end of last year, with BYD producing 2.26 million EVs compared to Tesla's 1.64 million. The stock dropped 3% to $369 per share following the news.
Cheaper versions of Tesla Model X and Model 3, introduced late last year, likely contributed to the sales increase. Financial analysts, according to FactSet, anticipate Tesla will report net income roughly doubled to 25 cents per share on $23 billion in revenue for the quarter.
Despite a 30% rise over the past year, Tesla's stock maintains a high valuation at 181 times expected earnings, far exceeding the broad market's 22 times, reflecting Musk's long-term vision for robotaxis and Optimus robots.
