Tesla has been making moves to try to increase its sales, offering financing deals and lowering prices. Despite this effort, their sales were down nearly 5% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. However, the decline wasn’t as bad as analysts had predicted, which caused Tesla’s stock to rise over 8% following the news.
This downward trend in sales marks the second consecutive quarter that Tesla has seen a decrease in deliveries, indicating that the overall slowdown in the electric vehicle industry is affecting Elon Musk’s company. Despite the sales drop, some analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, see this quarter’s results as a positive comeback performance for Tesla. He believes that the worst is behind them and that the demand for electric vehicles is starting to rise again.
Tesla reported delivering 443,956 units in the second quarter, slightly above Wall Street expectations. Even though Tesla’s hard numbers may not always meet expectations, investors tend to trust Musk due to his ability to defy expectations when faced with challenges. For example, the Model 3, which faced doubts initially, has become a success for the company.
Musk and Tesla now seem to be rewarded on Wall Street not for their growth, but for simply not doing as poorly as anticipated. Looking towards the future, Musk has teased plans for an AI-driven robotaxi fleet, which will be further detailed in August. Tesla’s second-quarter financial results will be released on July 23 after the market closes.