Tesla’s global sales of its electric vehicles (EV) fell 13 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday.
The EV maker owned by Elon Musk said it delivered just more than 384,000 cars between April and June of this year, down from the nearly 444,000 cars it delivered during the same three-month period last year.
The sharp decline in global sales comes as Tesla has had a tumultuous year so far, with Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration weighing heavily on the company.
Tesla’s stock climbed in the wake of President Trump’s win last year, as investors anticipated that Musk’s close relationship with the president would boost his companies.
However, Musk’s role leading the Department of Government Efficiency proved highly controversial, as the cost-cutting effort sought to slash trillions of dollars in federal funding and trim the federal workforce.
Shares in Musk’s EV firm fell sharply, and the company became the focus of both peaceful and disruptive protests.
When Musk announced his plans to leave the administration, things began looking up for Tesla. However, his public feud with Trump once again weighed on the company’s stock. The two have reignited their feud over the president’s tax and spending bill in recent days.
While Tesla’s global sales dropped markedly in the second quarter, the decline was largely in line with expectations. Investors appeared mostly upbeat Wednesday morning, with Tesla’s shares rising nearly 4 percent at the start of trading.
“If Musk continues to lead and remain in the driver’s seat, we believe Tesla is on a path to an accelerated growth path over the coming years with deliveries expected to ramp in the back-half of 2025,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note.
“There will be many setbacks,” he added. “[But] given its unmatched scale and scope globally we believe Tesla has the opportunity to own the autonomous market and down the road license its technology to other auto players both in the US and around the globe.”
Tesla launched its first robotaxis in Austin, Texas, last month, in a key success for the EV maker.
Updated at 10:14 a.m. EDT
