Elon Musk's Tesla Reports Drop in Annual EV Deliveries for First Time Ever

Tesla posted its fourth-quarter and full-year vehicle production and delivery numbers on Thursday, revealing the company’s first ever annual decline in EV deliveries.

CNBC reports that Elon Musk’s Tesla reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 vehicle production and delivery figures on Thursday, which showed the company experiencing its first-ever annual drop in deliveries. The report follows a significant late-year rally in Tesla’s stock price, which ended 2024 up 63 percent.

According to the report, Tesla delivered a total of 495,570 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2024, while producing 459,445 units. For the full year, the company delivered 1,789,226 vehicles and produced 1,773,443. These numbers represent a decline from the 1.81 million deliveries reported in 2023 and the 484,507 deliveries in the fourth quarter of that year.

Analysts had anticipated Tesla to report deliveries of 504,770 vehicles in the fourth quarter, including 474,000 Model 3 and Model Y EVs, based on a consensus of estimates compiled by StreetAccount. Tesla itself had provided investors with a company-compiled delivery consensus of 506,763 vehicles, derived from a survey of 26 analysts.

The fourth-quarter report follows a challenging first quarter for Tesla, during which the company’s stock plummeted 29 percent, its worst period since 2022. CEO Elon Musk had cautioned investors of slower growth in 2024 compared to the 38 percent growth experienced in 2023. However, the company’s performance improved in the latter part of the year.

One of the most significant developments for Tesla in the second half of 2024 was CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in President-elect Donald Trump’s election campaign. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, contributed approximately $277 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates and spent weeks campaigning in key swing states. Musk has been selected to co-lead an advisory group to the Trump administration, which aims to reduce federal spending, personnel, and regulations.

Tesla, which once enjoyed a near-monopoly in the electric vehicle market, now faces intense competition from various automakers, including General Motors, Ford, Rivian, BYD in China, Hyundai in Korea, and European giants BMW and Volkswagen. Despite this, Tesla still maintains several advantages over its competitors, particularly in terms of its extensive charging network.

However, the company’s operational challenges in the fourth quarter primarily stemmed from the fundamental aspects of being an automobile manufacturer. Some analysts believe that Tesla made a misstep by not introducing more affordable EVs in 2024, and the company’s newest vehicle, the Cybertruck, which starts at around $80,000, has been accumulating on used car lots.

Tesla experienced a significant decline in sales in Europe during the fourth quarter, with registrations falling to 18,786 in November from approximately 31,810 a year earlier. The company’s business in China also faced pressure, with the growth of the Model Y failing to keep pace with the overall growth of the Chinese EV market.

In North America, Tesla remained dominant but offered various incentives and price cuts, even on its most popular EVs, to drive sales. The company also sent Cybertruck assembly line workers home for a few days during the fourth quarter, possibly to avoid oversaturating the market with the vehicle.

Looking ahead to 2025, Musk stated on an earnings call in October that Tesla expects to offer lower-cost and autonomous vehicles, which should lead to a 20 percent to 30 percent growth over 2024.