After over a year of promises, Tesla’s more affordable Model 3 and Model Y arrived last October, priced from $36,990. However, first-quarter figures show these new versions are not significantly boosting sales. Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles globally in Q1, missing analyst expectations. This is only a 6% increase from a very weak Q1 last year. The company risks a third consecutive annual sales decline as profits fall.
Tesla is not alone in this struggle. Legacy automakers have scaled back EV plans, and newcomers like Rivian are also stagnant, reporting roughly 10,000 deliveries again this quarter. Rivian hopes its upcoming, cheaper R2 SUV will change that, though its base model won’t arrive until late 2027.
Tesla lacks a new mass-market vehicle. CEO Elon Musk canceled a planned $25,000 car to focus on robotaxis, leaving the stripped-down Models as the affordable option. The only recent new model, the Cybertruck, has been a flop relative to expectations, with only 16,130 “other models” sold last quarter.