Tesla: number of deliveries to fall minimally in 2024

Last year, fewer Tesla vehicles were delivered to customers than planned. Around 1.79 million cars were delivered to end customers in 2024, as the company announced in Austin (US state of Texas). Tesla CEO Elon Musk had set himself the goal of delivering 515,000 cars in the final quarter and thus achieving a "slight increase" in the full year 2024 compared to 2023. At that time, the company had delivered 1.81 million vehicles. In fact, 495,570 cars were delivered to end customers in the fourth quarter. The figures therefore also fell short of analysts' estimates.

BYD only slightly behind

The day before, Chinese competitor BYD, which is now in a neck-and-neck race with Tesla, had already presented its delivery figures. In the past full year, it increased sales of purely electric cars by 41 percent to 1.76 million vehicles. BYD's rapid growth is in stark contrast to the weakness of other car manufacturers, primarily from Europe. While Volkswagen, Nissan and Stellantis, for example, are struggling with falling sales figures in China, BYD could soon be the brand that sells the most electric cars worldwide.

Musk assumes that Tesla is "between two waves of growth". He is focusing primarily on autonomous driving technology and presented the prototype of a robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals in October 2024. With his proximity to Trump, Musk could build up pressure for more favorable regulatory conditions for autonomous cars. Meanwhile, critics of Tesla point to an ageing model range from the industry pioneer, which recently only added one niche model, the Cybertruck.

(mfz)