Tesla’s struggles continue as the company reports another drop in vehicle deliveries, deepening concerns that its image problem, especially in Europe, is weighing heavily on consumer demand.
In the second quarter of 2025, the electric vehicle giant delivered 443,956 vehicles, a 13.5 percent decline from the same period in 2024. Deliveries are Tesla’s key sales metric and are closely watched by investors and analysts alike. Nearly all of those deliveries — 97.3 percent — were for the company’s two most popular models: the Model 3 and Model Y.
Wall Street had expected a dip of about 10 percent, so the final number was worse than anticipated.
The drop underscores the lasting impact of Elon Musk’s political turn. Once a darling of eco-conscious and tech-savvy progressives, Tesla has alienated parts of its original customer base. The shift became more pronounced after Musk accepted a high-profile role in the Trump administration, running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency tasked with cutting federal spending. Under Musk, DOGE became infamous for slashing budgets without concern for what those programs did.
Musk’s vocal support for far-right political parties in the United Kingdom and Germany has also alienated European buyers, many of whom had embraced Tesla as a climate-conscious status symbol. The backlash has been especially strong in Germany, a major market for the company.
On top of the political fallout, Tesla faces increasingly aggressive competition from both Chinese automakers like BYD and domestic rivals including Ford, General Motors, and Rivian.
Despite the decline in deliveries, Tesla actually produced more vehicles this quarter, building 410,244 units, which is virtually flat compared to the same quarter last year. This hints that underlying demand might not be collapsing, or that Tesla is betting demand will return soon.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, struck an optimistic note.
The numbers were “better than feared,” Ives said on X (formerly Twitter), citing a rebound in China and interest in the refreshed Model Y. “Big step forward.”
Tesla announced its 2Q delivery numbers this morning which came in at 384k vehicles well above Street whisper numbers of ~365k vehicles, which was better than feared as the company saw success with its Model Y refresh cycle in the quarter. China rebound. Big step forward 🔥🏆🐂 — Dan Ives (@DivesTech) July 2, 2025
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