2024-04-24 20:42:54
Tesla wants to bring cheaper electric cars to market faster than planned. The company owned by Elon Musk hopes in this way to increase its sales, which have stagnated.
The brand is already planning to start production of a new electric car before the middle of next year. The company previously told suppliers that the more affordable model, which is being developed under the code name Redwood, will go into production in the second half of next year.
Tesla has been struggling with disappointing sales for some time, due in part to fierce competition in China. That’s why Musk recently announced a round of layoffs that will eliminate more than 10 percent of more than 140,000 jobs worldwide.
For now, Tesla is sticking to its near-term growth expectations. “In 2024, our vehicle volume growth may be significantly lower than the growth rate in 2023 as our teams work to launch next-generation vehicles and other products,” the company said in its quarterly income statement.
Tesla announced that it posted its first sales decline in nearly four years in the latest quarter. Turnover fell 9 percent year-on-year to $21.3 billion (€19.9 billion). Analysts were expecting an average turnover of 22.15 billion. Earnings per share also fell short of expectations. Net profit fell 55 percent to $1.13 billion (€1.06 billion).
Musk’s company failed to meet expectations in the first quarter with roughly 387,000 vehicles delivered. This is 8.5 percent less than in the same period last year and 20 percent less than in the fourth quarter of 2023.