Tesla Stock Dips After Vehicle Sales Decline Annually Despite Record Q4 Deliveries

Tesla stock is selling off prior to the cash open on Thursday after the company missed on its Q4 and annual delivery and sales number. Annual vehicle sales actually declined in 2024, marking the first drop in over a decade, despite achieving record deliveries in the fourth quarter.

The company reported sales of 1.79 million vehicles for the year, falling short of the 1.8 million delivered in 2023 and missing analysts' consensus estimate of 1.8 million.

In the final quarter, Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles, also below analysts' projection of approximately 512,277 for the three months ending Dec. 31. Production totaled 459,445, slightly below the 460,705 forecast. Model 3/Y accounted for 471,930 deliveries, with 23,640 from other models, primarily the Cybertruck.

As CNBC notes, Tesla faced a sharp decline in European sales during the fourth quarter as competitors gained market share. From January through November, Tesla sold 283,000 vehicles in Europe, a 14% drop from the prior year, with November registrations falling to 18,786 from 31,810 a year earlier, according to ACEA data.

In China, Tesla also faced pressures during the same period. Looking ahead, Elon Musk stated in an October earnings call that Tesla plans to introduce lower-cost and autonomous vehicles by 2025, projecting "20% to 30% growth" over 2024.

It is uncertain what role electric vehicles (EVs) will play under the incoming Trump administration. With policy priorities likely shifting toward traditional energy sectors and potential rollbacks of environmental regulations, the EV industry's trajectory could face significant challenges. 

As we noted this week, just three years ago, the U.S. government allocated $7.5 billion under the Biden administration to build public EV charging stations, aiming to support a shift to electric vehicles and achieve 40% zero-emission car sales by 2030.

However, the incoming Trump team reportedly plans to redirect these funds to priorities like domestic battery-mineral processing, arguing EV charging isn't a "national defense" issue, according to a new feature from Wired.