Summary
Tesla reported its worst quarterly results in four years, with Q1 income down 71% and EV sales falling 13%.
Elon Musk vowed to refocus on Tesla amid backlash over his political role in the Trump Administration’s DOGE program, but analysts doubt his return will fix worsening issues.
Tesla faces eroding market share, failed products like the Cybertruck, and a coming 145% tariff on imported Chinese battery cells set to hammer the company’s battery pack business, one of the only bright spots last quarter.
Musk’s pivot to robotaxis and humanoid robots lacks credibility, and critics say Tesla has no compelling new EVs to revive growth.
Even in a very optimistic timeline it would take years for Tesla cars to suck less. I don’t think Tesla has that kind of time any more, now that there’s growing competition from big automakers like Honda & Toyota as well as Hyundai, Volkswagen, etc. and all the other EV companies like Rivian.
Those established automakers have a long history of innovating & listening to customers. As their expansion into the EV market grows, they’re going to put a lot of pressure on Tesla to innovate as well, and that doesn’t mean bowing to whatever whims the CEO has.
Likely correct on paragraph 1, paragraph 2… not so much.
The reason tesla was able to get such a foothold was because they were innovating where the established automakers were floundering.
In defense of the established automakers, they wisened up and got into the EV market before it was too late. They adapted instead of becoming the next Blockbuster or Kodak.
Any advantage that Tesla had is long gone.