Tesla CEO and “Technoking” Elon Musk got involved in politics. That has impacted the brand’s sales. Numbers coming in from Europe, where Musk has openly supported Germany’s far-right AfD party, have been brutal. The lingering question was how much Tesla sales would suffer in America, where Musk has been de facto leading mass layoffs with the Department of Government Efficiency. We just found out the answer. It was a lot.
Tesla just reported its deliveries for Q1 2025 in America. The brand delivered just 336,681 new vehicles from January to March, the brand’s lowest total since Q2 of 2022.
Key Takeaways
- Tesla performed worse than analysts anticipated, delivering fewer than 337,000 vehicles in Q1 2025
- It was a 12.9-percent decline year-over-year in Q1 and a 32-percent decline from Q4 2024
- The decline coincides with Musk’s increased involvement in far-right politics in America and abroad
- Tesla has thousands of unsold Cybertrucks at dealers
- Tesla may have an advantage, however, being relatively insulated from Trump tariffs
Tesla Sales Came In Well Below Expectations
According to Reuters, analysts expected Tesla to deliver around 373,000 vehicles in Q1, about a 3.7-percent drop from Q1 2024, when Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles. The actual year-over-year decline in Tesla deliveries in Q1 2025 was 12.9 percent. One Wall Street analyst called Tesla’s sales performance “a disaster on every metric” and a “fork in the road moment” for the brand.
The year-over-year numbers may not be telling the whole story. Tesla’s Q1 2024 performance was relatively weak. The 386,810 vehicles Tesla delivered in Q1 2024 were an 8.6-percent decline from Q1 2023. The Q1 2025 performance was a 32-percent decline from Q4 2024, when Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles.
And Tesla May Have a Cybertruck Problem
The Tesla Cybertruck was one of America’s best-selling EVs in 2024. However, interest in that vehicle appears to be declining rapidly. The truck has faced a myriad of issues and recalls. According to TeslaInfo, Tesla has more than 2,300 Cybertrucks unsold at dealers, more than any other model. Even presuming every model was the cheapest model, that would represent more than $180 million in unsold Cybertruck inventory. Tesla does not delineate its individual model sales, but the Model S, Model X and Cybertruck were responsible for just 12,881 deliveries combined in Q1.
TopSpeed’s Take
Elon Musk’s political involvement is creating a significant headwind for Tesla. The related headaches for the brand may only be getting started. And that backlash may have staying power as long as Musk continues his dual roles in government and as Tesla CEO.
Musk’s political turn only compounds issues related to the brand’s aging lineup and increased global competition, particularly in China. We don’t know how much Tesla’s sales declines will ultimately matter; the brand’s value is tied up in future self-driving and robotics developments. It would be hard to call the current delivery figures encouraging, even if a new Model Y and Tesla being relatively insulated from tariffs may leave some reason for optimism.
Read the full article here
