Tesla Misses Vehicle Delivery Estimates As EV Market Struggles

Follow Forbes Talks Tesla on Thursday reported quarterly vehicle deliveries that fell below Wall Street’s expectations, the latest sign of a disrupted electric vehicle market as Elon Musk’s automaker shifts its focus toward robotaxis and humanoid robots. Key Facts Tesla said Thursday it delivered just over 358,000 vehicles in the first quarter, below the automaker’s compiled consensus of 365,645 and consensus analyst projections of 381,000, according to FactSet. That marks a 14.3% decline from the December quarter (418,227), but a 6.2% year-over-year growth from Q1 2025 (337,000), when Tesla reported its fewest quarterly vehicle deliveries since 2022. Model 3 and Y vehicles accounted for nearly 342,000 of Tesla’s quarterly deliveries, down nearly 19% from the previous quarter (406,585). Shares of Tesla declined 3.4% shortly after trading opened on Thursday. What To Watch For Tesla will report Q1 earnings after market close on April 22, the company said. The automaker is expected to report quarterly revenue of $22.9 billion and $0.41 earnings per share, representing what would be annual growth of 18.6% and nearly 52%, respectively. Key Background Tesla’s vehicle delivery reports are often cited as insight into the automaker’s sales ahead of its earnings reports. The latest quarterly slide in deliveries follows a broader decline in electric vehicle demand: EVs represented roughly 12% of the U.S. market in September, an all-time high, but that dropped to 6% by January, according to Cox Automotive. Tesla remains the market leader in the U.S., however, even as it faces growing competition from Chinese automaker BYD, which surpassed Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker. Musk said in January the company would end production of its flagship Model S and Model X cars, announcing Tesla would use its production line in Fremont, California, to manufacture the company’s Optimus humanoid robots. Earlier this week, Musk said orders for the S and X vehicles had “come to an end.” Forbes Valuation Musk is by far the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of $823.8 billion as of Thursday. He’s expected to soon become the world’s first trillionaire, after his SpaceX filed confidentially for an IPO on Wednesday, leading the way for what will likely be the largest-ever market debut. Musk, who owns about 43% of SpaceX, would become the first person to be chief executive of two companies valued at $1 trillion after the aerospace firm’s listing. Read the full story on Forbes: By Ty Roush https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2026/04/02/tesla-misses-vehicle-delivery-estimates-as-ev-market-struggles/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices