Tesla stock slides after first-ever delivery drop

For the first time ever, Tesla has reported a decline in deliveries, causing stock prices to dip.

The EV company shared its Q4 production and delivery report on Thursday, giving us a full picture of its overall deliveries for the past year. Tesla delivered 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, compared to 1.81 million vehicles in 2023. After the report was published, stock prices dipped 7 percent before gaining back a few points, but not rising to the company’s previous price per share.

According to CNBC, analysts expected Tesla deliveries to increase to over 500,000 in Q4. However, the company didn’t meet industry expectations and delivered only 495,570 vehicles. The reason is unclear, but after being the major EV manufacturer for several years, others have started catching up, so Tesla faces more competition. There’s Rivian, but General Motors, Ford, BMW, and Volkswagen have also begun mass-producing EVs. 

Additionally, Tesla has yet to make a more economical EV and instead has been focusing on selling its pricey Cybertruck, which was plagued with six recalls in 2024. Plus, Tesla might have too many Cybertrucks in its inventory, indicating a demand problem, and the EV trucks are piling up in used car lots, according to InsideEVs.

In the second half of 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk very publicly shifted his focus to helping Donald Trump get elected. Musk donated $277 million to Trump’s campaign efforts and spent several weeks on the campaign trail. Although Musk’s distractions from Tesla might have impacted the company’s stock health, analyst Sam Fiorani told CNBC that that won’t be reflected until this year’s first quarter earnings report.