Tesla sales fall amid increased competition

Tesla sales fell last quarter amid increased competition in the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, despite the Austin, Texas, company decreasing prices to bring in more buyers. 

The electric car company said it built 433,371 vehicles and delivered 386,810 from January through March this year. The number of deliveries is down from the first three months of last year, when the company delivered more than 484,000. 

Tesla said the decline in deliveries was partially due to factories shutting down amid shipping difficulties in the Red Sea and a factory in Germany losing power after an arson attack. 

“Decline in volumes was partially due to the early phase of the production ramp of the updated Model 3 at our Fremont factory and factory shutdowns resulting from shipping diversions caused by the Red Sea conflict and an arson attack at Gigafactory Berlin,” the company said Tuesday. 

With increased competition from Chinese and Western car manufacturers, Tesla slashed the prices of some of its models in 2023. Some of them were cut by up to $20,000. The Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling car, price was down $1,000 last month. 

Tesla’s sales decline comes as the market for electric vehicles in the U.S. has slowed. Ford slowed production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup and lowered the price of its Mustang Mach E electric SUV. 

Tesla’s stock has also dropped by almost 5 percent to $166.49 in midday trading Tuesday.