Tesla (TSLA)’ written in the middle and cars parked around it” width=”970″ height=”672″ data-caption=’Tesla has been the subject of mounting political protests. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</span>’>
The impact of Elon Musk’s political power on Tesla is finally showing up in numbers. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla delivered 336,681 electric vehicles, the company disclosed today (April 2). The figure is the lowest since 2022 and about 9 percent below what analysts had expected.
Tesla attributed the decline in part to a redesign of the Model Y, which led to a partial factory shutdown and the loss of several weeks of production capacity in the first quarter (Tesla made 16 percent fewer vehicles in the first quarter). But it’s hard to ignore the effect of Musk’s politics. The CEO, who hasn’t been seen at any Tesla factory in recent months, has become the face of federal cost-cutting measures as head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He has also vocalized support for international far-right political movements like Germany’s AfD party, drawing ire from liberal-leaning Tesla customers. In the first quarter, sales of used Tesla cars spiked 33 percent, according to Cox Automotive. Protests at Tesla dealerships and vandalism against Tesla vehicles also amounted to a point that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi describes as “domestic terrorism.”
A “fork in the road” moment
Long-time investors are urging Musk to refocus his attention on the automaker and away from politics. Some have called for the CEO to either resign from DOGE or find another person to run Tesla. Even Tesla bulls like Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, have conceded that Musk’s political efforts are undeniably harming his EV company.
“Musk needs to get his act together or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla,” said Ives in an investor note today. “The future is so bright, but this is a full-blown crisis Tesla is navigating now, and it’s primarily self-inflicted,” added the analyst, who called the company’s disappointing delivery numbers a “fork in the road moment.”
Tesla’s first-quarter delivery consists of 323,800 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and 1,161 other models. While the company didn’t disclose delivery figures for Cybertruck, the hyped electric truck has reportedly been faring worse than initially expected.
Tesla is suffering across all of its major markets, particularly Europe. In the U.S., vehicle sales were down by 2 percent in January and February from a year ago, according to data from Wards Intelligence reported by the Wall Street Journal. In China, sales fell by 29 percent in January and February year-over-year and 11.5 percent in March, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
In Europe, Tesla sales plummeted nearly half (49 percent) in January and February. Germany, which houses one of Tesla’s gigafactories, saw a sharp decline in sales. New Tesla registations fell more than 76 percent in February compared to last year, according to the country’s Motor Transport Authority. Norway, which leads the world in EV adoption, saw a 12 percent decline in Tesla sales during the first quarter.
