United States: Tesla has predicted a significant slowdown in sales this year as the latest automaker to voice concerns about declining demand.
Growth will be “notably lower” than in 2023, when deliveries increased by 38 percent, according to Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. Following the announcement, the company’s shares dropped by nearly 6 percent during extended trading in New York.
Musk added that if trade barriers are not implemented, Chinese competitors “will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.”
Last year, Tesla frequently slashed prices in an effort to maintain demand. Due to the actions, the company sold a record 1.8 million cars in 2023, an increase of almost 40 percent over 2022.
However, revenue increased at a rate of about half that and then sharply slowed down at the end of the year.
Tesla stated that it does not anticipate experiencing another significant wave of growth until it releases a new model in its quarterly report to investors. Plans for a smaller vehicle that would be less costly than the company’s current Model Y, which starts at about $60,300 in the UK, have been discussed.
“Our company is currently between two major growth waves: the first one began with the global expansion of the Model 3/Y platform and the next one we believe will be initiated by the global expansion of the next-generation vehicle platform,” Tesla said.
In response to China’s BYD surpassing Tesla as the world’s best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer in the final three months of 2023, Musk called for trade barriers in the fiercely competitive market.
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