Tesla sales fell 13% in the last three months as anti-Musk sentiment still has an effect
The plunging sales add to growing signs that Musk's embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe has had a deep and enduring hit to the Tesla's brand appeal. The new figures also are a possible sign that Tesla could disappoint when it announces second quarter earnings later this month. In the first three months this year, net income fell 71%.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
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 czar and hopes rose that sales would recover.
Sales of the Models 3 and Y totaled 373,728, above the estimate of 356,000 from Wall Street analysts. Tesla shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation. But he's got plenty of homework
VATICAN CITY (AP) — In his very first sermon as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must 'make oneself small,' so that only Christ remains. In word and deed since, Leo has seemed intent on almost disappearing into the role. The shy Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favor a less showy and more reserved way of being pope. Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break since his historic election May 8. Leo is resuming the papal tradition of escaping the Roman heat for the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat on Lake Alban, south of Rome. People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the most pressing problems facing the church. He's a methodical, hard-working and well-prepared manager, they say, who wants to read entire reports, not just the executive summaries, before making decisions. Here is a look at Leo's summer homework, the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug. 17 in between dips in the pool, walks in the gardens and occasional Masses, prayers and visits in town. Big nominations After his election, Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice, so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place. But a few major appointments await, most importantly to fill his old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations. Leo also has to decide who will be his No. 2, the Vatican secretary of state. That job, the equivalent of a prime minister, is still held by Francis' pick, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected Leo pope. Even before he gets his people in place, Leo has to get a handle on one of the most pressing problems facing the Holy See: Its troubled finances. The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around 50 million to 60 million euros ($59-71 million) and has a 1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) shortfall in its pension fund. The Rupnik problem There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Francis' pontificate that are now are on Leo's desk. History's first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them, since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics, given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States. Leo has already said it's 'urgent' to create a culture of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse, be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse. On that score, there is no case more pressing than that of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns. Even though the case didn't involve minors, it became a toxic problem for Francis because of suggestions Rupnik received favorable treatment at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope. Nearly two years after Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file, the Vatican has finally found external canon lawyers to hear the case, the head of the Vatican's doctrine office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, told reporters last week. As recently as March, Fernandez had said he was having trouble finding any willing candidates. Now that Francis is dead, the case may be less politically delicate, even as the priest's supporters maintain his innocence. The Becciu case Another legal headache facing Leo is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican's 'trial of the century,' which is heading into the appeals phase in September. The city-state's criminal tribunal in 2023 convicted Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See's bungled 350 million euro ($412 million) investment in a London property. But the trial was itself problematic, with defense claims that basic defense rights weren't respected since Francis intervened on several occasions in favor of prosecutors. In the months since the verdicts were handed down, there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Becciu. The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start, from the top. Leo, a canon lawyer, may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent. But Leo will ultimately have to decide what to do with Becciu, who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status. The Latin Mass issue Leo has said his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church. Many conservatives and traditionalists hope that means he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Francis' 12-year papacy, especially in the U.S., over the old Latin Mass. Francis in 2021 restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy, arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church. In doing so, Francis reversed his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 had relaxed restrictions on its celebration. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp, told a recent conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Leo about the need to 'put an end to the present persecution of the faithful' who want to worship according to the old rite. 'It it is my hope that he will as soon as it is possible take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was' under Benedict's reform, Burke said. AI and travel priorities Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity, suggesting a document of some sort might be in the works. Also under study is when he will start traveling, and where. Leo has a standing invitation to undertake Francis' last, unfulfilled foreign commitment: Marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity's first ecumenical council, with a visit to Turkey. Leo has already said a visit is in the works, possibly in late November. Beyond that, Leo has received plenty of invitations: Vice President JD Vance extended a Trump invitation to visit the U.S., but Leo demurred and offered a noncommittal 'at some point.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited him to visit Kyiv, but the Vatican under Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow. Leo's old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home, and then there's Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope. A town awaits Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. The residents of Castel Gandolfo, meanwhile, are aching for a pope to return. Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his 12 papal summers at home, in the Vatican. The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers, after Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the public as a museum year-round. But townsfolks cannot wait for Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town's gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights. It's the perfect place for a pope to rest, read, write and think in private, they say. 'Remember, many encyclicals were written here,' noted the Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, the town's parish priest. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
What's in the tax and spending bill that Trump has signed into law
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed the tax and spending cut bill Republicans muscled through Congress this week, turning it into law by his own self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
Canada News.Net
4 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Daily World Briefing, June 7
Libyan PM orders investigation into clashes in coastal city Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah on Friday ordered an investigation into clashes that broke out Thursday in the northwestern coastal city of Sabratha. The Information Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement that Dbeibah had instructed the commander of the Western Military Zone "to start an immediate and thorough investigation" into the clashes. "The instructions are part of orders made yesterday to assign the Western Military Zone commander to urgently interfere on ground and stop the fighting," the statement added. According to local media, clashes broke out on Thursday between rival armed groups in Sabratha, some 70 km west of the capital Tripoli, and lasted until Friday morning. No casualties have been reported so far. NATO defense ministers struggle to bridge divides over military spending goals NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday "broadly" agreed to pursue a significant increase in member states' military spending to 5 percent of GDP. However, sharp disagreements over the timeline and spending categories revealed deep divisions ahead of the alliance's upcoming summit in The Hague, scheduled for June 24-25. "There's broad support. We are really close," Mark Rutte, NATO's secretary general, told reporters after the meeting. He stressed that he has "total confidence that we will get there" by the next NATO summit in three weeks. Rutte proposed a compromise plan: setting a target of 3.5 percent of GDP for core military spending, and an additional 1.5 percent for broader security-related areas such as infrastructure, by 2032. Wildfire smoke causes poor air quality in major Canadian cities Smoke from wildfires burning in northern Ontario and the Prairies of Canada caused poor air quality and reduced visibility in major cities including Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal on Friday. Environment Canada issued special air quality statements for these areas on Friday, warning that people most likely to suffer health effects from air pollution should avoid strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms. Environment Canada's David Phillips said on CTV News that as wildfires ramp up across the country, air quality is deteriorating. "What we've seen this week, of course, in Ontario is a lot of that smoke from fires has come south," Phillips said. Trump to sell his Tesla car as feud with Musk carries risks for both: report U.S. President Donald Trump planned to sell the red Tesla car he said he bought in March, reported The New York Times on Friday, noting that Trump originally purchased the car to demonstrate his support for Elon Musk amid a backlash over his role in the administration. "Administration officials said Mr. Trump showed little interest in engaging with Mr. Musk, even after the billionaire signaled he would be open to de-escalating the fight" they currently have, added the report. Late Thursday, Musk backed off a threat to "immediately" decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which transports NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. A short time later, when Bill Ackman, the hedge-fund billionaire, posted on social media that the two men "should make peace for the benefit of our great country," Musk responded, "You're not wrong." "For Musk, a prolonged feud with Trump could be hugely expensive," noted the report. His companies, including SpaceX, have benefited from billions of dollars in government contracts and were positioned to receive billions more. Trump threatened on Thursday to end those contracts. United Airlines resumes flights to Israel over month after Houthi airport attack U.S. carrier United Airlines has resumed flights to Israel after a suspension of more than a month. Flight UA84 departed from Newark Liberty International Airport in New York on Thursday and landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Friday. United Airlines suspended its operations in Israel on May 4 after a missile fired from Yemen by the Houthi group exploded near Ben Gurion Airport. The incident prompted several international airlines to suspend flights to the country, with only a few having since resumed service. Among those resuming operations is Latvia's national airline, airBaltic, which completed a flight from Riga International Airport to Tel Aviv on Friday.
