Tesla on Wednesday reported a pointy drop in revenue for 2024 as rivals in China, Europe and the US chipped away at its lead available in the market for electrical vehicles.
The corporate, which is led by Elon Musk, mentioned it made a revenue of $2.3 billion over the last 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 acquire, fell 23 % within the closing three months of the yr.
Gross sales rose 2 % to $25.7 billion within the fourth quarter, from $25.2 billion in the identical interval in 2023.
For the total yr, revenue was $7.1 billion, Tesla mentioned, 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 US supply a wider and rising collection of electrical automobiles.
BYD, based mostly 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 US. Chinese language automakers are anticipated to introduce greater than 60 fashions within the second quarter of this yr alone, analysts at HSBC mentioned in a report.
Elevated competitors and Tesla’s relative lack of latest fashions led to a decline of the corporate’s market share in China, Europe and the US final yr. Tesla mentioned earlier this month that it bought 1.8 million automobiles worldwide in 2024, barely lower than in 2023. That could be a huge change for a corporation that elevated automobile gross sales 38 % in 2023 and 40 % in 2022.
In the US, Tesla’s share of the electrical car market fell to 44 % within the closing quarter of the yr, from 51 % a yr earlier, in response to Cox Automotive. Tesla has additionally misplaced floor within the luxurious market. In the US, BMW bought practically 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, in response to 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, in response to estimates by Cox.
Tesla has reduce costs and supplied low-interest financing to extend gross sales, however the measures have come on the expense of revenue. Nonetheless, Tesla is without doubt one of the few carmakers that earn a living on electrical automobiles. Ford, Normal Motors and others don’t but promote sufficient electrical vehicles to recoup the investments they’ve made to retool meeting traces and manufacture batteries.
Tesla shares have soared since November regardless of the corporate’s lackluster monetary efficiency. Buyers are focusing as a substitute on guarantees by Mr. Musk to provide self-driving “cybercabs” that he says might generate trillions of {dollars} in income. The corporate mentioned on Wednesday that it could “start launching later this yr” in the US.
“The inventory has change into untethered from fundamentals,” analysts at Barclays mentioned in a report this month. Somewhat, they mentioned, 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 automobiles.
However Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress have promised to dispose of tax credit and different incentives for electrical automobiles, together with Teslas. Mr. Musk has mentioned that elimination of the incentives would harm rivals greater than Tesla.
The corporate, which has its company headquarters in Austin, Texas, has mentioned it could introduce a car this yr that might promote for considerably lower than the Mannequin 3 sedan, which begins at $42,500 earlier than authorities incentives. A extra reasonably priced automobile may appeal to extra consumers and assist revive gross sales. However Tesla has not supplied particulars or displayed a prototype.