California leads the United States in electric vehicle (EV) sales. For years, that has meant one thing first — more and more Teslas gliding down San Francisco streets every month.
No longer. Fortune reports, “Tesla Inc. registered fewer cars in California in all four quarters of 2024.” Tesla sales fell 12% during the year and 8% during the fourth quarter alone in the Golden State. Sales of its lowest-priced offering, the Model 3, dropped by 36% during the year.
EV Sales Didn’t Slip in California. Tesla Sales Did.
A report from the California New Car Dealers Association notes that, statewide, EV sales slid in 2024. However, “All of the decrease in the state market last year was attributable to Tesla,” while “registrations for all other brands increased 1.4%.”
Nationwide, the company suffered its first-ever annual sales drop in 2024.
EV sales were up in 2024, as Americans bought 1.3 million EVs for the first time. However, Tesla’s command of the EV market slipped, with the company owning a market share of under 50% throughout the year. It had controlled more than 75% in 2022.
The U.S. is hardly the company’s only problem spot.
Sales Dropping in Europe, China, Too
China has accounted for over a third of Tesla’s global sales in recent years. Reuters reports that Tesla sales “fell 11.5% to 63,238 units in January from a year earlier, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.”
In Germany, Tesla sales fell by a remarkable 59% in January alone, The New York Times reports. Tesla sales dropped in all three of Europe’s largest markets. “Tesla’s sales plummeted 63% in France in January from a year earlier, and 12% in Britain,” the Times notes.
Norway, home to the world’s largest concentration of EVs, saw Tesla sales fall 38% last month.
Aging Lineup Partly to Blame?
Blame may fall partly on a largely stale lineup. Only the Cybertruck rides on an up-to-date 800-volt architecture like rival models from Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, and others. Four of Tesla’s five models ride on an older 400-volt system designed for the 2012 model-year debut of the Model S. Tesla has given its Model 3 and Model Y visual updates, but the technology that drives them trails what many competitors have to offer.
The company has not publicly disclosed the development of any high-volume new models. In a recent conference call with investors, company executives promised lower-cost cars in 2025, but said they would likely be derived from current models.
Sales may, however, be slumping for reasons that have nothing to do with the cars. InsideEVs notes, “one factor feels inescapable at this point: the backlash to Elon Musk’s increased involvement in politics.”
Controversial CEO’s Political Crusade May Be Hurting Sales
Electrek reports, “Tesla stores have increasingly become targets of vandals amid rising discontent with the company’s CEO.” A Loveland, Colorado, Tesla store was the target of an arson attempt last week, the site notes.
Protestors recently projected the phrase “Heil Tesla” onto a Berlin factory, while vandals spraypainted swastikas on a showroom in The Hague, the site reports.
Whatever the cause, the sales slump appears to have spooked some high-profile investors. Under securities law, public companies must report stock sales by executives and board members.
Electrek notes that Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja, Board of Directors head Robyn Denholm, and board member Kimbal Musk (younger brother of the CEO) have all sold tens of millions of dollars worth of Tesla stock this month.
Tesla stock traded at over $424 when markets opened after inauguration day in January. It sits at just over $360 at press time for this article.
