Tesla can’t get out of its slump

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Teslas are selling like lukewarm cakes. The carmaker said yesterday that it shipped 6% more EVs last quarter than a year ago, which is considered a letdown, because Q1 2025 was when it partially paused production and faced backlash for Elon Musk’s politics. Wall Street was hoping for more. Last quarter was Tesla’s second-worst quarter since 2022: The 358k cars it delivered significantly undershot analysts’ projections, as well as the 408k vehicles it produced, leaving thousands of cars looking for homes. Its budget 3 and Y models accounted for 95% of deliveries, while the Cybertruck remained an offbeat purchase. Analysts blamed the disappointing sales on Tesla’s aging lineup, rising competition, and a broader industry downturn following the Trump administration’s nixing of a $7,500 EV tax credit last year. No longer a consumer car company? Though EVs are still its bread and butter, Tesla ties its future to launching the Optimus humanoid robot this year and mass-producing its autonomous taxi EV, CyberCab. But investors may feel differently. They responded to yesterday’s performance update just like your parents reacted to your assurances that a C- in math wouldn’t hinder your rap career. Tesla’s stock fell by nearly 6% yesterday, and is down by almost 20% since the year began. In a silver lining…soaring gas prices amid the war in Iran might be spurring some Americans to go electric. US sales of Hyundai’s EV Ioniq 5 rose by 13% last month, while Cadillac EV sales were up by 20% in Q1.