Discuss: Tesla Suffers Sharp Decline in U.S. Sales: A Look at the Numbers

[Not a Tesla App]

A Look at Tesla's 2024 Sales in the US - and some analysis and commentary on Tesla's progress with vehicles… Read More

Tesla Suffers Sharp Decline in U.S. Sales: A Look at the Numbers

A Look at Tesla's 2024 Sales in the US - and some analysis and commentary on Tesla's progress with vehicles

www.notateslaapp.com

 

[ffMathy]

I think this is due to President Musk honestly. I think his political involvement was not a good idea for Tesla (or in general).

 

[acmem]

It also involves consistent resistance to all EVs, news articles that highlight and twist facts about Tesla fires, crashes, defects, recalls etc. that cater to those already fearful of the new technology and an increasing competitive market.

 

[K.I.T.T.]

I think it's neither. We already buy stuff from mass murderers, and nobody gives a sh*t.

There are simply better cars out there, the competition caught up. As Elon said many times, building an EV is much easier than building an ICE, because the engine is key to an ICE and it's the most difficult piece, while the battery pack is for the EV.
The rest nowadays is just assembling 3rd party components in a "design" that makes sense. Tesla killed it on own manufacturing, which saved them from the pandemic and post pandemic supply chain disruptions, but the advantage is no longer so visible.

Also, Tesla focused probably too much on the CyberTruck, stealing time from cars that actually make sense, instead of releasing the Model 2. And no other manufacturer is so focused on FSD, robotaxi, etc.

Ah and no other manufacturer has the distraction of sending robots to Mars, but that's another story.

 

[PrescottAZRichard]

Not that I can afford one but I am keen to see what happens with the S and X in a refresh. They are such a small % of vehicles sold I am not sure what Tesla 'should' do with them. Whatever happens I'm sure they'll have that CT style light bar .

 

[acmem]

Not that I can afford one but I am keen to see what happens with the S and X in a refresh. They are such a small % of vehicles sold I am not sure what Tesla 'should' do with them. Whatever happens I'm sure they'll have that CT style light bar .

Although I like the light bar, I can imagine it looking outdated soon and also it is becoming very generic looking as more cars are using that style.

 

[ffMathy]

I think it's neither. We already buy stuff from mass murderers, and nobody gives a sh*t.

There are simply better cars out there, the competition caught up. As Elon said many times, building an EV is much easier than building an ICE, because the engine is key to an ICE and it's the most difficult piece, while the battery pack is for the EV.
The rest nowadays is just assembling 3rd party components in a "design" that makes sense. Tesla killed it on own manufacturing, which saved them from the pandemic and post pandemic supply chain disruptions, but the advantage is no longer so visible.

Also, Tesla focused probably too much on the CyberTruck, stealing time from cars that actually make sense, instead of releasing the Model 2. And no other manufacturer is so focused on FSD, robotaxi, etc.

Ah and no other manufacturer has the distraction of sending robots to Mars, but that's another story.

Why only in the US though? Wouldn't this be global then?

 

[K.I.T.T.]

Why only in the US though? Wouldn't this be global then?

Quoting the news.

The Austin, Texas, company sold 495,570 vehicles from October through December, boosting deliveries to 1.79 million for the full year. That was 1.1% below 2023 sales of 1.81 million as overall demand for electric vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere slowed.

There are many factors to consider.

For one, Chinese manufacturers still don't have full access to the "old continent", and I don't see any Rivian/Lucid here at all, so except some BYD, Porsche Taycan, KIA and the mentioned 500 and Mini plus the legacy Toyotas, there aren't as many alternatives here. The closest competitors currently are the BYD Seal and the Polestars.
Also luckily very few have the great idea of importing Hummers here, be the legacy ICE or electric.

So, hey, this is why the current model Y is still selling even after seeing the striking difference with the Highland. Simply there's no other decent alternative for SUV lovers.

But obviously this is changing. BMW and other incumbents are (slowly) catching up and their proposition is more suitable for the mass then Tesla, whose radical approach is more for early adopters like us (which by definition are a small fraction of the market, and the easy one to convince). And they even manage to piss us off as well, which is an accomplishment by itself.

This is why you see Tesla fixing some of the idiocy that went on until the Highland on the Y: it's the model most aimed at breaking the early adopters barrier. If it weren't for Mars, I wouldn't have been surprised if Model Y reintroduced USSs. Probably the next iteration will, once unsupervised FSD is mature enough to have mastered Vision only.

Last but not least: the best seller is the Model Y. The instant the news about Juniper went out, who would place an order until having certainty of the new model, and paying the old at full price, unless forced by circumstances? If Tesla had a traditional concessionaire model, you would see lots of deals to get rid of the last Ys, to avoid sales slowdowns. But afaik they don't.

 

[ffMathy]

Fair enough, but still looks like it's a factor: https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-brand-value-declined-2024-brand-finance/

 

[K.I.T.T.]

Now, yes. Actually the more I think about it, the less I trust driving the car. Too much... "connected", if you get what I mean.