Tesla TSLA Q4 2024 vehicle deliveries and production numbers

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Tesla for the first time reported a decline in annual car deliveries, as inventories decreased

Tesla released auto production and deliveries for the fourth quarter report on Thursday. Here are the key numbers:

Total deliveries Q4 2024: 495,570

Total production Q4 2024: 459,445

Total annual deliveries 2024: 1,789,226

Total annual production 2024: 1,773,443

The quarter’s results represented the first annual decline in delivery numbers for Tesla, which reported 1.81 million deliveries in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 484,507 deliveries were reported.

Tesla shares fell as much as 7% in Thursday trading.

Analysts had expected Tesla to report 504,770 units in the quarter, including 474,000 Model 3 and Model Y EVs, according to consensus estimates compiled by StreetAccount. Tesla sent some investors the company-compiled delivery consensus of 506,763 vehicles based on a survey of 26 analysts. A widely followed independent Tesla researcher publishing as Troy Teslike predicted a supply of 501,000.

The deliveries are the closest estimate of sales reported by Tesla, but were not specified in the company’s communication to shareholders.

The fourth-quarter report follows a big late-year rally in Tesla shares, which ended 2024 up 63%. Stocks in mid-December reached the recordIt beats the all-time high since 2021.

It’s been a great turnaround since the first quarter, the shareholder decreased by 29%It was the worst period since 2022 as the company struggled with declining sales despite price cuts and incentives for shoppers. CEO on the company’s first quarter earnings in April Elon Musk told investors that while it expects “higher sales this year than last year,” the growth rate will slow to 38% in 2023.

The biggest story at Tesla in the last half of the year has been Musk’s role in the president-elect Donald Trump election campaign. Musk, the world’s richest man, spent about $277 million to promote Trump and other Republican candidates and spent weeks on the road campaigning in swing states.

Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a launch review of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.

Brandon Bell | via Reuters

Musk, who also runs SpaceX and xAI and owns social network X, has been tapped to lead an advisory group to the Trump administration that aims to cut federal spending, staffing and regulations.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of industry research group Auto Forecast Solutions, told CNBC in an email that Musk’s entry into politics “could distract him from his core business.” However, he said the degree to which investors or EV buyers care won’t be reflected in Tesla’s numbers until the first quarter.

Until recently, Tesla was one of the only automakers to produce battery electric vehicles. The company is now facing an onslaught of competition from domestic automakers, including General Motors, Ford and Rivian as well as BYD in China, Hyundai in Korea and European car giants BMW and Volkswagen.

Patrick George, editor-in-chief of InsideEVs, told CNBC that he thinks Tesla still does a lot of things better than any other EV maker, especially when it comes to its charging network. But Tesla’s biggest operating challenge in the last quarter was the “nut job of being a car company.”

“Collection of used cars”

Tesla has invested in its humanoid robotics initiative and chip development, and plans to produce a custom robot taxi and launch a self-driving service by 2027. While Musk and shareholders don’t want to see Tesla as just a car company, most of the profits still come from car sales.

George said Tesla was making a mistake by not bringing out “more affordable EVs in 2024,” adding that Cybertrucks — the company’s newest vehicle — “collect a lot of used cars.” The angular steel Cybertruck starts at around $80,000.

Tesla experienced a sharp decline in sales in the region during the fourth quarter as rivals gained market share in Europe.

Car carriers are loaded with new Tesla Model Y electric cars at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg site.

Patrick Pleul | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Between January and the end of November, Tesla sold 283,000 vehicles in Europe, down about 14% compared to the same period a year ago, according to registration data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA. Registrations in Europe fell to 18,786 in November from about 31,810 a year ago.

The company’s business in China also came under pressure in the fourth quarter.

Fiorani said that while the Model Y is the second best-selling model in China, “its growth does not match the growth of the market.” He said Model Y sales were up more than 5% during November, but overall EV sales in the country were up 8%.

Meanwhile, BYD and other brands in China, including Chery, Li Auto, Jetour, LeapMotor and Aito, grew significantly faster than Tesla. BYD also builds factories outside of China and exports heavily.

Tesla remained dominant in North America. The company offered several incentives and price reductionseven in the most popular Model Y SUV, during the fourth quarter to boost sales. Still, Tesla experienced an inventory build-up.

During the fourth quarter, the company sent Cybertruck assembly line workers home for several days, indicating that it may be working to avoid flooding the market with too many vehicles.

Looking ahead to 2025, Musk said on an earnings call in October that he expects Tesla to offer cheaper and autonomous cars in 2025, leading to “20% to 30% growth” in 2024.