On the largest manufacturers of electric vehicles on the planet has had to see and then now swallow the hard pill. Elon Musk's Tesla which expected a drop in its annual sale for the first time since the pandemic, did not however expect it to be greater magnitude. This understandably has also impacted their the numbers at the Wall Street.
The US-based company that claimed to have manufactured as many as it 433,000 of its coveted electric vehicles, could only end up delivering 387,000 of them, leaving 46,000 cars unsold.
Tesla Shares Also Nosedive
The company's shares also saw a reflection of the chaos in the balance sheet. On 2 April, on the second day of the week, Tesla shares slumped 4.90 per cent in just one day. Musk's only listed venture, ended the day's trade on USD 166.63, having lost 8.59 points. Just a day before, on 1 April, the price of each share was at USD 173.54.
If we dig further, and take a look at the company's performance over 4 months, the numbers have been on a downward slope since 27 December, when its price were at a much healthier USD 261.44.
Things do not look bright for Musk | AP
The trouble in the equity market stems from the company's shortcomings in the real market, as the company ended up selling 97,507 less cars, that it delivered just in the last three months of 2023.
There are few factors, that are at play in this story, one of them is the fierce competition, that the company has had to, and is still facing, in a market, that was once dominated by Tesla itself.
Tesla's Challenges
The expansion of Chinese companies, particularly BYD has been a nightmare come true for Musk, who was visibly elated when he learnt about the end of Apple's EV ambition on X (formerly Twitter).
Although, BYD has made rapid expansion in the global market, that was once hungry for EVs, according to FT report, both BYD and Tesla have reported a decline in their sales.
In the past apart from BYD, other companies, including Tesla's American counterparts, from Ford to GM have also tried, and arguably burned their hands in the EV business, exhausting their resources.
In addition to all that controversies (in plural) have always surrounded the company. Elon Musk's whimsical exploits online, coupled multiple reports and instances of mass recall of their wagons for technical glitches, may have also contributed to the current slide in fortunes.
With major events, like the US elections and potential change in interest rate could have repercussions to Musk's Tesla in the not-so-distant but definitely near future.
