Tesla quarterly deliveries seen falling again
While much of Tesla's trillion-dollar valuation hangs on Musk's bet on commercializing robotaxis, most of the company's current revenue and profits come from its core business of selling electric vehicles - one that has been under pressure due to high interest rates and rising competition.
The global EV market has been growing, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years, but annual sales of Tesla's aging lineup fell for the first time in 2024. While Musk has said sales will return to growth in 2025 - a pullback from his earlier promise of 20-30% growth - analysts expect an 8% sales decline this year.
For the second quarter ended June, Tesla is expected to deliver 394,380 units, according to 23 analysts polled by Visible Alpha. That would be a drop of more than 11% year-over-year, and would follow a 13% decline the company reported in the previous quarter.
Tesla has said the fall last quarter was due to a pause in production to shift to a refreshed version of its best-selling Model Y SUV, and analysts had said many customers were delaying purchases as they waited for it to roll out.
"I think a lot of analysts were thinking this quarter would have a bump positive because of the new Model Y," said Ross Gerber, CEO of Tesla investor Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. "But the new Model Y in my mind isn't such a departure from the old Model Y," he said, adding that demand for the model did not live up to expectations.
Instead, people bought fewer Tesla vehicles. Some prospective buyers were irked by Musk's public embrace of far-right politics in Europe and work for U.S. President Donald Trump overseeing cuts to federal jobs and funding.
Though Musk has shifted his focus back to his companies, the backlash, along with customers choosing cheaper Chinese EVs, led to the fifth straight month of falling sales for Tesla in Europe, with a 27.9% drop in May, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed.
In China, Tesla's share of the EV market has fallen to 7.6% for the first five months of 2025, from 10% last year and a peak of 15% in 2020, as competitors won over consumers with snazzy, new, feature-packed EVs. Xiaomi's YU7 SUV received exceptionally strong orders hours after going on sale last week and fanned speculation that Tesla may have to cut prices to fight back.
"Lagging sales in Europe compared to the rest of the EV market and the increasing competition in China are both working against Tesla going forward," said Sam Fiorani, vice president at research firm AutoForecast Solutions.
To achieve Musk's target of returning to growth this year, Tesla - if those second-quarter estimates are accurate - would need to hand over more than a million units in the second half, which would be a record and a tough challenge, according to Wall Street analysts, although typically sales are stronger in the latter half.
Some help could come from Tesla's planned cheaper model - expected to be a stripped down Model Y - that the company has said it will start producing by June end. Reuters reported in April it would be delayed by at least a few months.
After tanking early this year amid angry anti-Musk protests, Tesla shares have regained some ground recently. Last month, the company rolled out about a dozen robotaxis in a limited part of Austin, Texas, ferrying a small group of invited fans for a nominal fee but with a safety monitor and other restrictions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
China finalising new safety rules for driver-assistance systems
China's automakers are outpacing foreign rivals in their push for assisted-driving technology, eager to woo motorists hungry for rapid innovation. Yet, Beijing has a nuanced message for its rising stars: move fast – but be careful. Regulators this week have been finalising new safety rules for driver-assistance systems as Beijing sharpens scrutiny of the technology following an accident involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan in March. That incident killed three occupants when their car crashed seconds after the driver took control from the assisted-driving system. While Chinese officials want to prevent carmakers from overselling the capabilities of such systems, they are also threading the needle between innovation and safety to ensure their automakers don't lose out to U.S. and European rivals. Setting clear regulations for assisted-driving tech without slowing its advancement could give China's industry an edge over global competitors, analysts say. This approach is in stark contrast to the U.S. market, where companies pursuing autonomous cars have expressed frustration that the government has not implemented a regulatory system to validate and test the technology. Markus Muessig, auto industry lead at Accenture Greater China, said China's regulators and industries have long followed former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's 'feel the stones to cross the river' philosophy. The expression means to steadily explore new, uncertain technologies, which 'has proven very successful for this market,' he said. Current Chinese regulations allow systems that automatically steer, brake and accelerate under certain conditions while requiring the driver to stay engaged. For that reason, marketing terms such as 'smart' and 'autonomous' are banned. The new rules will focus on hardware and software designs that monitor a driver's state of awareness and their capacity to take control in time. To do this, regulators enlisted Chinese automaker Dongfeng and tech giant Huawei to help draft new rules and have sought public input over a month-long period, ending Friday. At the same time, government officials are pressing Chinese automakers to rapidly deploy even more-advanced systems, known as Level 3 assisted-driving, which allow drivers to take their eyes off the road in certain situations. Level 3 is the midway point on the industry's autonomous-driving scale, from basic features like cruise control at Level 1, to self-driving capability under all conditions at Level 5. The Chinese government had tapped state-owned Changan to be the first automaker to begin Level 3 validation tests in April, but the plan was paused after the Xiaomi crash, said a source familiar with the regulatory planning process. Beijing still hopes to resume such tests this year and approve the country's first Level 3 car in 2026, the source said. China's Ministry of Industry of Information Technology and Changan did not respond to requests for comment. Xiaomi has said it is cooperating with a police investigation into the accident. Driver-assistance systems are seen by industry analysts as the next big battleground in China's hyper-competitive car market. Over the past decade, Level 2 systems have proliferated in China, including Tesla's Full Self Driving system, as well as the Xiaomi feature involved in the March crash. The capability ranges from basic vehicle following on highways to handling most tasks on busy urban roads, under driver supervision. Automakers have pushed down hardware costs to levels that allow them to offer Level 2 features at little or no extra cost. China's No. 1 automaker BYD has rolled out its 'God's Eye' assisted-driving software for free across its entire product line-up. More than 60% of new cars sold in China this year will have Level 2 features, according to an estimate from research firm Canalys. GLOBAL RACE In its push for assisted-driving technology, and ultimately fully self-driving cars, Beijing is seeking to help homegrown carmakers just as it supported China's rapid rise to become the world's electric-car juggernaut. Last year, China's government lined up nine automakers for public tests to advance the adoption of self-driving cars. In their Level 3 push, Chinese regulators also are upping the regulatory ante by holding automakers and parts suppliers liable if their systems fail and cause an accident. Legislation passed in Britain last year adopted a similar approach to liability. At the Shanghai auto show in April, several companies touted progress toward rolling out vehicles with Level 3 capability. Tech giant Huawei said it is ready to introduce a Level 3 system for highways after simulated testing of more than 600 million kilometers. It showed a video of drivers and passengers singing karaoke as the car drove itself. Geely's Zeekr brand debuted the luxury SUV 9X, featuring Level 3 software the automaker said is ready for mass production in the third quarter if regulations allow. Zeekr is also applying to be part of a second batch of automakers to undergo government Level 3 validation tests. Meanwhile, traditional automakers at the Shanghai auto show such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen said they were pushing their most advanced assisted-driving features but stopped short of crossing the Level 3 liability line. Getting there is a challenge as they are already at a cost disadvantage against their Chinese rivals, analysts say. Mercedes-Benz CTO Markus Schaefer told Reuters that while chip and computing power prices have fallen, the additional safety required for Level 3 will cost much more. 'It's a moving target,' Schaefer said.
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
China says quiet part out loud: Beijing tells EU it can't afford Russia losing war against Ukraine; wants US distracted
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP) Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told the European Union's top diplomat that Beijing cannot accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, Wang said such an outcome could allow the United States to fully shift its focus to China. This private remark goes against China's public stance of neutrality in the conflict. Sources were quoted as saying by the newspaper that Wang made the comments during a four-hour meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels on Wednesday. European officials were reportedly surprised when Wang said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a blessing for China. According to the report, Wang's comments suggested that China might prefer a prolonged war in Ukraine because it keeps the United States occupied and away from the Pacific region. This aligns with the views of those who believe China has a larger geopolitical interest in the Ukraine conflict than it has publicly stated. At the same time, Wang rejected accusations that China is helping Russia militarily or financially. He said that if China were supporting Russia in that way, the war would have ended long ago. When asked about the report during a regular briefing on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, "China is not a party to the Ukraine issue." She added, as cited by the CNN, "China's position on the Ukraine crisis is objective and consistent, that is, negotiation, ceasefire and peace. A prolonged Ukraine crisis serves no one's interests." Mao also said, "Together with the international community and in light of the will of the parties concerned, we will continue playing a constructive role towards this end." Although China has stated that it is neutral on the Ukraine war, its ties with Russia have grown since the conflict began. Weeks before the full-scale invasion in 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "no limits" partnership. Since then, political and economic cooperation between the two countries has increased. One interpretation of Wang's reported comments is that although China did not seek the war, its continuation could align with Beijing's strategic goals, especially if it keeps the US focused on Ukraine. Meanwhile, China has also denied growing claims that it is providing near-military support to Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, Ukraine has imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies, accusing them of supplying drone components and technology used in Russian missile production. Following a large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv on Friday, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Andrii Sybiha shared images of what he said were debris from a Geran-2 combat drone launched by Russian forces. One photo showed part of the drone's fuselage marked with a note stating it was made in China on June 20. Sybiha also said that the same night, a Russian strike caused minor damage to the building housing the Chinese Consulate General in Odesa. In a post on X, he said, "Chinese Consulate General's building in Odesa suffered minor damage as a result of Russian strikes on the city. There is no better metaphor for how Putin continues to escalate his war and terror while involving others, including North Korean troops, Iranian weapons, and some Chinese manufacturers. Security in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific is inextricably linked." Earlier this year, there were also reports that Chinese citizens had fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Beijing denied the allegations and reiterated its position that Chinese nationals should avoid involvement in any military activity by any side.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
China's rare-earth origin story, explained
Rare-earth metals were an afterthought for most world leaders until China temporarily suspended most exports of them a couple months ago. But for almost a half-century, they have received attention from the very top of the Chinese government. During his 27-year rule in China, Mao Zedong focused often on increasing how much iron and steel China produced, but seldom on its quality. The result was high production of weak iron and steel that could not meet the needs of the industry. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Egypt: Unsold Sofas Prices May Surprise You (Prices May Surprise You) Sofas | Search Ads Search Now Undo In the late 1940s, metallurgists in Britain and the United States had developed a fairly low-tech way to improve the quality of ductile iron, which is widely used for pipelines, car parts and other applications. The secret? Add a dash of the rare-earth cerium to the metal while it is still molten. It was one of the early industrial uses of rare earths. And unlike most kinds of rare earths, cerium was fairly easy to chemically separate from ore. When Deng Xiaoping emerged as China's paramount leader in 1978, he moved quickly to fix the country's iron and steel industry. Deng named a top technocrat, Fang Yi, as a vice premier and also as a director of the powerful State Science and Technology Commission . Live Events Fang immediately took top geologists and scientists to Baotou, a city in China's Inner Mongolia that had vast steel mills and the country's largest iron ore mine nearby. Baotou had already made much of the iron and steel for China's tanks and artillery under Mao, but Fang's team made an important decision to extract more than iron from the mine. The city's iron ore deposit was laced with large quantities of so-called light rare earths. These included not just cerium, for ductile iron and for glass manufacturing, but also lanthanum, used in refining oil. The iron ore deposit also held medium rare earths, including samarium. The United States had started using samarium in the 1970s to make the heat-resistant magnets needed for electric motors inside supersonic fighter jets and missiles. "Rare earths have important application value in steel, ductile iron, glass and ceramics, military industry, electronics and new materials," Fang declared during his visit to Baotou in 1978, according to an exhibit at the city's museum. At the time, Sino-American relations were improving. Soon after his Baotou visit, Fang took top Chinese engineers to visit America's most advanced factories, including Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas assembly plants near Los Angeles. Rare-earth metals are tightly bound together in nature. Prying them apart, particularly the heavier rare earths, requires many rounds of chemical processes and huge quantities of acid. During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union had each developed similar ways to separate rare earths. But their techniques were costly, requiring stainless steel vats and piping, as well as expensive nitric acid. China ordered government research institutes to devise a cheaper approach, said Constantine Karayannopoulos, a chemical engineer and former CEO of several of the largest North American rare-earth companies. Chinese engineers figured out how to separate rare earths using inexpensive plastic and hydrochloric acid instead. The cost advantage, together with weak enforcement of environmental standards, allowed China's rare-earth refineries to undercut competitors in the West. Facing increasingly stiff environmental regulations, almost all of the West's refineries closed. Separately, China's geologists discovered that their country held nearly half of the world's deposits of rare earths, including rich deposits of heavy rare earths in south-central China, valuable for magnets in cars and for medical imaging and other applications. In the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese refinery engineers mastered the task of prying apart heavy rare earths. That gave China an almost total monopoly on heavy rare-earth production. "The Middle East has oil," Deng said in 1992. "China has rare earths." By then, he and Fang had already trained the next leader to guide the country's rare-earth industry : a geologist named Wen Jiabao. He had earned a master's degree in rare-earth sciences in the late 1960s at the Beijing Institute of Geology, when most of the rest of China was paralyzed during the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution. Wen went on to become a vice premier in 1998 and then China's premier from 2003-13. During a visit to Europe in 2010, he declared that little happened on rare-earth policy in China without his personal involvement. (This article originally appeared in The New York Times.)
