Tesla disappoints in quarter, share price falls on Wall Street
Data below market expectations: Europe holds up, US market falls due to lack of electrification incentives
Tesla tumbled on Wall Street after disappointing first-quarter delivery figures of around 358,000 cars, compared with a market-expected figure of at least 372,000. The Texan manufacturer's stock, betrayed mainly by the US domestic market, opened trading down about 4%. The overall figures were down despite positive signs from the European market, where the economy version of the Model Y, launched in recent months, drove sales in France and Norway.
Overall, however, deliveries went less well than expected, partly due to the long wave of US tax credit expiries. In detail, the company delivered 358,023 vehicles in the January-March period, down 14.4 per cent from the fourth quarter, but up 6.3 per cent from a year earlier. Analysts had expected deliveries of 368,903 vehicles on average, according to data from Visible Alpha.
Tesla has recorded two consecutive years of declining deliveries for the first time in its history. Analysts have cut their forecasts for 2026, with some warning of the risk of a third consecutive annual decline.
Although Europe weighed on Tesla's global figures last year, the company has shown signs of stabilising in these early months, gaining market share in key locations such as France in Q1 2026. Sales of vehicles manufactured in China also increased for the second consecutive quarter, up 23.5 per cent year-on-year.
The end of the $7,500 federal tax credit at the end of September, however, hit US demand hard, removing a key incentive. Analysts predict that this loss will hamper demand for Evs this year, adding to increasingly fierce competition in Europe from incumbent manufacturers and Chinese brands.
