Tesla’s Sales Slide Continues: Political Winds & Old Models Hurt

Tesla’s sales slide continued in the second quarter, with the company reporting 384,122 vehicle deliveries. This is a 13.5% decrease from the 443,956 vehicles delivered a year ago, extending a concerning trend that puts Tesla on course for its second straight year of annual sales decline.
The ongoing slide is largely attributed to the adverse impact of political winds stirred by CEO Elon Musk’s public stances, coupled with a vehicle lineup that is increasingly seen as outdated. These factors are contributing to a decline in demand, even as the global EV market expands.
The company’s stock has suffered considerably, losing 25% of its value this year. Concerns are heightened about brand damage, particularly in Europe and the US, where sales have slumped most sharply. Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics and his involvement with the Trump administration are cited as key factors in this decline. The very public split between Trump and Musk in early June, which wiped out approximately $150 billion from Tesla’s market value, underscores the direct financial cost of these high-profile disagreements.
Despite efforts to stimulate demand with a refreshed Model Y, the redesign inadvertently caused production delays and encouraged some buyers to hold off on purchases. With most of Tesla’s revenue tied to its core EV business and its ambitious robotaxi plans, the company faces an uphill battle. Analysts are largely predicting a second consecutive annual sales decline, making Musk’s ambitious target of over a million deliveries in the second half of the year seem increasingly out of reach.