Tesla delivered fewer vehicles to customers for the second quarter in a row

On the heels of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s massive payday, the company released its latest quarterly production and delivery report, showing drops from last year in both production and deliveries.

Tesla reported producing 410,831 vehicles over the three-month period that ended in June, a 14 percent drop compared to the second quarter of 2023. Tesla reported delivering 443,956 vehicles to customers during Q2 of 2024, a 4.76 percent drop from the 466,140 vehicles it delivered in Q2 2023.

This continues a trend that began earlier this year in which Tesla reported its first year-over-year sales drop since 2020. The company is continuing to struggle with demand as customers have more choices than ever when shopping for an electric vehicle. It did turn around last quarter’s sequential drop in deliveries, with an increase of 14.8 percent compared to Q1.

Tesla has also been dealing with some real struggles that have affected its production, like the ramp-up of the newly refreshed Model 3 at its factory in Fremont, California, and shutdowns related to supply chain issues at its Gigafactory in Berlin.

But production woes can’t totally explain the drop in customer deliveries. Tesla’s market share has shrunk as legacy automakers continue to release new models. It’s now hovering at around 50 percent of the market, down from 80 percent share in 2020. And while other automakers are reporting double-digit growth in EV sales, Tesla’s sales continue to drop.

There’s a litany of reasons for this: Musk’s online antics, gaps in the company’s vehicle lineup, and increasing competition. The vast majority of Tesla’s sales — over 90 percent — come from just two models: the Model 3 and Model Y. The Cybertruck, the company’s great stainless steel hope, is extremely polarizing and perennially recalled.

Tesla doesn’t break out its numbers regionally, so it’s impossible to pinpoint the company’s major weaknesses. Registration trackers indicate Europe is a growing problem. But China, Tesla’s most important market, may be looking up thanks to lowered interest rates and new incentives.

It’s looking like it will be a busy summer for Tesla. As it continues to sift through the wreckage of this year’s multiple rounds of layoffs, the company is expected to report its second quarter earnings later this month. And then, on August 8th, there’s the big robotaxi reveal, where Musk will make his most forceful pitch for Tesla’s future as an AI and robotics company.

That may be the future, but the present is still cars.