Sales of Elon Musk’s Tesla fell 13 percent in the first quarter of this year, representing the largest drop in deliveries in the company’s entire history. Deliveries dropped by more than 50,000 cars, to just 336,681 vehicles.
This was the worst quarter since 2022 for Tesla, as the company’s market cap also fell by $460 billion.
The electric vehicle company has attributed the horrendous development to changes in the production for the Model Y that negatively affected deliveries. But this flop has been brewing for weeks. Tesla’s stock has lost 36 percent of its value since the year started. In March, it got so bad that Musk and Trump had a gaudy Tesla-themed photo op at the White House. The president even promised to buy one himself as a “show of confidence.” That confidence may be starting to erode. And it’s not just domestically: European Tesla sales have fallen by a staggering 43 percent.
This all comes as Musk’s far-right antics and DOGE’s hostile government takeover have (unsurprisingly) become synonymous with the prominent EV company he is in charge of. It might finally be catching up to him—and his pockets. The world’s richest man has lost over $100 billion from his own personal net worth since December.
It’s also been reported that Musk may be stepping away from the Trump administration, a possible clue into just how urgent his business struggles are. But what “stepping away” actually means—and in what capacity—has yet to be determined.