Tesla on Wednesday reported a pointy drop in revenue for 2024 as rivals in China, Europe and the USA chipped away at its lead available in the market for electrical vehicles.
The corporate, which is led by Elon Musk, stated it made a revenue of $2.3 billion over the past three months of 2024. That was a decline in contrast with $7.9 billion a yr earlier, however 2023’s revenue included a one-time tax good thing about $5.9 billion. Tesla’s working revenue, which excludes that particular achieve, fell 23 p.c within the closing three months of the yr.
Gross sales rose 2 p.c to $25.7 billion within the fourth quarter, from $25.2 billion in the identical interval in 2023.
For the complete yr, revenue was $7.1 billion, Tesla stated, down from $15 billion a yr earlier. Gross sales rose to $97.7 billion, from $96.8 billion in 2023.
Tesla additionally sells batteries utilized by electrical utilities, companies and houses to retailer vitality from photo voltaic panels and different sources. Elevated gross sales of these merchandise helped compensate for lackluster automobile gross sales.
The corporate stays reliant on two fashions, the Mannequin 3 sedan and Mannequin Y sport utility car, for many of its automobile gross sales, whereas rivals in Asia, Europe and the USA supply a wider and rising choice of electrical autos.
BYD, primarily based in China, sells greater than a dozen electrical and plug-in hybrid fashions, from subcompacts to minivans, and has emerged as Tesla’s largest challenger outdoors the USA. Chinese language automakers are anticipated to introduce greater than 60 fashions within the second quarter of this yr alone, analysts at HSBC stated in a report.
Elevated competitors and Tesla’s relative lack of recent fashions led to a decline of the corporate’s market share in China, Europe and the USA final yr. Tesla stated earlier this month that it bought 1.8 million vehicles worldwide in 2024, barely lower than in 2023. That could be a massive change for a corporation that elevated automobile gross sales 38 p.c in 2023 and 40 p.c in 2022.
In the USA, Tesla’s share of the electrical car market fell to 44 p.c within the closing quarter of the yr, from 51 p.c a yr earlier, based on Cox Automotive. Tesla has additionally misplaced floor within the luxurious market. In the USA, BMW bought almost as many i5 and i7 luxurious sedans as Tesla bought Mannequin S vehicles in 2024; and Rivian bought about 7,000 extra of its R1S S.U.V. as Tesla’s Mannequin X, based on Cox.
Gross sales of Tesla’s latest car, the Cybertruck pickup, which begins at round $80,000, additionally appear to be flagging. Tesla bought 13,000 Cybertrucks within the fourth quarter, down from 16,700 within the third quarter, based on estimates by Cox.
Tesla has reduce costs and provided low-interest financing to extend gross sales, however the measures have come on the expense of revenue. Nonetheless, Tesla is likely one of the few carmakers that generate profits on electrical autos. Ford, Basic Motors and others don’t but promote sufficient electrical vehicles to recoup the investments they’ve made to retool meeting strains and manufacture batteries.
Tesla shares have soared since November regardless of the corporate’s lackluster monetary efficiency. Traders are focusing as a substitute on guarantees by Mr. Musk to supply self-driving “cybercabs” that he says might generate trillions of {dollars} in income. The corporate stated on Wednesday that it might “start launching later this yr” in the USA.
“The inventory has grow to be untethered from fundamentals,” analysts at Barclays stated in a report this month. Fairly, they stated, traders are betting on “Elon’s star energy” and “Tesla’s function as a disrupter — no matter how distant the chance is.”
Some traders are also apparently hoping that Mr. Musk’s shut affiliation with President Trump will assist Tesla: for instance, by serving to to clear away regulatory hurdles to self-driving autos.
However Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress have promised to eliminate tax credit and different incentives for electrical autos, together with Teslas. Mr. Musk has stated that elimination of the incentives would damage rivals greater than Tesla.
The corporate, which has its company headquarters in Austin, Texas, has stated it might introduce a car this yr that may promote for considerably lower than the Mannequin 3 sedan, which begins at $42,500 earlier than authorities incentives. A extra reasonably priced automobile would possibly entice extra consumers and assist revive gross sales. However Tesla has not supplied particulars or displayed a prototype.
