Tesla sales fall by 13% as Musk's political ties hit brand
The plunging sales figures underscore growing concerns that Mr Musk's public embrace of Donald Trump and various far-right politicians across Europe has inflicted a profound and lasting blow to the appeal of the Tesla brand.
These new figures also signal a potential disappointment for Tesla when it announces its second-quarter earnings later this month. The company's net income already saw a sharp 71 per cent decline in the first three months of this year.
Sales fell to 384,122 in April through June, down from 443,956 in the same period last year. During this period, Musk formally left the Trump administration as a cost-cutting tsar and hopes rose that sales would recover.
Sales of the Models 3 and Y totalled 373,728, above the estimate of 356,000 from Wall Street analysts. Tesla shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
The alarming figures come after Tesla stock dropped 4.9 percent on Tuesday following a suggestion by Trump that government subsidies for Musk's companies, such as Tesla, should be reviewed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk used to lead.
The plunge occurred after after Trump and Musk renewed their war of words, with Musk attacking Trump's congressional spending package and threatening to form a new political party. Tesla dropped below $300 for a short period of time after Trump said Musk's companies got more subsidies 'than any human being in history.'
The stock settled at about $303.46 by Tuesday afternoon., and a little more than 21 percent since the start of the year.
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