Tesla losing steam in Ca

[VC_Rivian]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/elon-musk-publicly-dumped-california-210135618.html

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[virgnia_rivian]

Paywall article.

 

[Wilsonos]

Short article for me, I hate when you need to sign up for services just to read an article. I’ll spend my dollars on Rivian Merchandise.

 

[Redline]

I give Elon credit…destroying two huge companies at once is impressive.

 

[DuoRivians]

- California EV sales in Q1 2024 were up 2.8% yoy.
- Tesla sales were down -7.8%.
- Non-Tesla sales were up 20%.

The slowdown is a Tesla issue. See the data for yourself:

https://www.cncda.org/wp-content/uploads/Cal-Covering-1Q-24-FINAL.pdf

 

[jjswan33]

In California, where there are Teslas as far as the eye can see and rapid charging stations aplenty, new drivers are opting out of the $605 billion Elon Musk–led car universe.


Among the top three passenger cars sold in California in the first quarter this year, Elon Musk’s Tesla Model 3 dropped from first place to third, behind the Toyota Camry and the Honda Civic, according to the California New Car Dealers Association’s first quarter auto outlook on Monday. Toyota was the top brand in California this quarter, notching a 9.3% increase in registrations, followed by Honda, which marked an 18.6% rise so far this year. Tesla registrations have dropped in California year to date, with a 7.8% drop in the first quarter, following a 9.8% drop in the last quarter of 2023.


California makes up 32.5% of registrations of battery electric vehicles in the U.S., and the sluggish popularity of Tesla among new-car registrants comes at a particularly vulnerable time for Tesla as a company and for its CEO. Musk is facing significant pressure from investors who want to see him adopt the norms of a more traditional CEO, step back from his grandiose social media presence, and provide a more concrete timeline for producing an affordably priced Tesla. The company reported last week that revenues dropped 9%, which was its largest drop since 2012, while net income dropped a whopping 55% in the first quarter. Three of its top executives, including well-known insider Drew Baglino, resigned in the space of two weeks, which further rattled investors.


“Californians’ love affair with electric vehicle giant Tesla may have peaked,” the CNCDA said in a statement Monday. The group tracks trends in California’s new-vehicle market, using data from Experian Automotive. The CNCDA represents California-based franchised new car and truck dealers.


“The numbers don’t lie,” said Brian Maas, president of the CNCDA. “They indicate that the incredible growth that Tesla had for years has now stopped or certainly slowed in the most recent report.”


The market share for battery electric vehicles fell from 21.5% in 2023, to 20.9% in the first quarter, the group found. The slowdown in sales is hard to parse, said Maas, but it could be due to the price of Teslas relative to other vehicles, issues with charging infrastructure, or that buyers who wanted to own a Tesla have already purchased the car.


“Appealing to the mass market is a challenge Tesla faces,” said Maas. “Other dealers have a broader array of very competitive vehicles, so Tesla doesn’t have the EV space largely to their own like they did a few years ago.”


Another factor that could be contributing to the slowdown in Tesla sales is Musk himself. According to Reuters, market-intelligence firm Caliber found consumer interest in Tesla had declined from 70% in November 2021 to just 31% in February 2024, due in part to Musk’s apparent acceptance of right-wing conspiracy theories and other polarizing political views. In California, where 47% of registered voters are Democrats compared to 24% who are Republicans, Musk’s antics may be particularly unappealing.


To be sure, this is only an early indicator that Tesla’s popularity is on the decline. Tesla is still the top seller of electric vehicles in California with the Model Y, Model 3, and Model X ahead of the Chevy Bolt and the Volkswagen ID.4, but first-quarter battery electric vehicle market share dropped 6.4%. Mercedes and BMW had the largest gains of sales among battery electric vehicles in the first quarter, with Mercedes rising 3% and BMW 2.4%.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Everyone is losing steam. High cost of living. High interest rates. High number of tech jobs and layoffs. We’re getting tapped out. When fed chair Powell said there will be pain… we’re in it now.

 

[KRG]

Everyone is losing steam. High cost of living. High interest rates. High number of tech jobs and layoffs. We’re getting tapped out. When fed chair Powell said there will be pain… we’re in it now.

sadly, this.

 

[DuoRivians]

Everyone is losing steam. High cost of living. High interest rates. High number of tech jobs and layoffs. We’re getting tapped out. When fed chair Powell said there will be pain… we’re in it now.

Non-Tesla EV sales are up 20% yoy. Consumer wealth is at all time highs.

 

[BigSkies]

While this can’t be distilled to a super simplistic explanation, I think most of it can be ascribed to Musk’s charming personality.

There were also fewer alternatives 1-2 years ago when the rest of the EV market was supply constrained. Some people were willing to buy a musk-mobile (myself included) when the only real alternatives had $10k+ ADM’s.

This story would be very different if Tesla had even tried to maintain their 2019 reputation of innovation and speed

 

[Redline]

I think there is some truth to both. Rates are not helping, but the biggest factor is Musk.

People don’t want to be associated with him.

 

[ryunited]

Non-Tesla EV sales are up 20% yoy. Consumer wealth is at all time highs.

This is right. I can't explain the market responding positively to Tesla missing numbers for a third consecutive quarter and Musk's over reliance on price reduction (which has damaged his make's brand equity and appears to not be breaking even in volume, or just barely)... The robo taxi seems such a lark when Elon is literally giving FSD away right now (further destroying value).

Meanwhile, Rivian continues to build market share and lead it in the highest ev price tiers. If RJ can just show some progress on margin you'd think his upside is massive.

 

[Honey]

Elon and pge are the reason.

 

[jjswan33]

Or just maybe if Tesla released a new car model that didn't look like a dumpster?

 

[RWerksman]

Or just maybe if Tesla released a new car model that didn't look like a dumpster?

That, sir, is offensive to dumpsters everywhere.

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