Tesla shares fell 6% on Wall Street after the American car manufacturer revealed that it delivered fewer vehicles in the first quarter compared to the first three months of 2023 and less than the market expected. The electric car specialist delivered 386,810 vehicles compared to the 457,000 analysts had estimated. Production also fell by 8.5% in the quarter, to 433,371 cars. “The decline in volumes is partly due to the initial production phases of the new version of the Model 3 at our Fremont plant,” in California, the group explained in a press release.
According to the note, this also derives from delivery problems related to the conflict in the Red Sea, with Houthi attacks on commercial ships, and from the act of sabotage that blocked its German factory, the only production site in Europe, for several days. “Disastrous first quarter”, is the headline of the note from Wedbush analysts, after Tesla’s announcement which “negatively shocked” the market. “Let’s be honest: even if we expect a bad quarter, the first quarter is an absolute disaster, difficult to explain,” they say. In 2023, Tesla had implemented price cuts in the United States to make its vehicles more affordable amid high inflation and rising interest rates. But the American group had declared in mid-March that it would be necessary to increase the Model Y prices by 1,000 dollars starting from April 1st.