Tesla Sales Decline as Rivals Eat Into EV Market Share

• Tesla posted its first annual sales decline since the pandemic last quarter, missing expectations. The company blamed weak demand in China, factory issues in Germany, and supply chain problems.

• New competitors like Audi, BMW, and Chinese automakers are taking market share from Tesla now that they have competitive EV models.

• Tesla's most popular models, the Model 3 and Model Y, are aging compared to fresher models from rivals. The long-awaited Cybertruck is just launching in low volumes.

• Elon Musk's controversial statements and behavior since buying Twitter in 2022 may be damaging Tesla's brand and turning away customers.

• As Tesla has declined, other automakers are seeing 50%+ growth in EV sales, signaling the overall slowdown reflects shrinking interest in Tesla specifically.