TSLA: Tesla Stock Nosedives as Annual Deliveries Mark First Drop in History

EV maker delivered 495,570 cars in the fourth quarter of 2024, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations. Shares dived more than 6%.

• Tesla stock TSLA slumped more than 6% in Thursday trading after the company reported its deliveries for the fourth quarter and the full year 2024. Tesla shipped 495,570 in the three months to December and that figure contributed to a total 2024 number of 1.79 million. Both figures slipped below expectations as Wall Street was eyeballing about 510,000 cars delivered in the quarter. The annual figure was lower than the 1.81 million cars delivered in 2023. So just about 20,000 units away from growth.
• The deliveries report comes after Tesla shares enjoyed a stellar run. Since early November, and prior to the opening bell today, the stock was up more than 60% largely thanks to Elon Musk’s deepening relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. In other news, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded just hours before the company released its fourth-quarter number. The investigation is still going and the cause of the blast is yet to be announced.
• The Elon Musk-led company marked a stark turnaround in the back half of the year — shares slumped more than 40% earlier in 2024 as Musk warned of headwinds ahead despite price cuts. Rising competition from Chinese EV giant BYD 1211 (which sold 4.25 million EVs and hybrids) is making Tesla sweat over its sales. Looking ahead into 2025, Musk has projected sales growth of about 20% to 30%.