Tesla became the most valuable automaker in the world promising unmatched sales growth. But in the face of growing competition for EV sales by other automakers, Tesla Wednesday backed off its former bullish sales targets.
Tesla has been cutting prices for more than a year to help support sales in the face of greater competition electric vehicles made by other automakers, and accordingly, the company’s 2023 deliveries were up 38% from a year earlier. And while that might sound like a big jump to the layperson, the company had previously said it was looking for a 50% annual growth rate when averaged over the course of several years.
And Wednesday it warned its “growth rate may be notably lower” in 2024 than it was last year.
The fourth quarter marked the first time that it lost the lead in global EV sales to Chinese automaker BYD.
The company’s 50% growth target had been a key feature driving the stock to become the most valuable automaker on the planet, despite a fraction of sales of more established automakers.
The new growth target came as part of an overall disappointing earnings report. Tesla reported adjusted earning of 71 cents a share, just short of the 74 cents a share forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, but down 40% from a year earlier.
It was the second straight quarter the the company fell short of earnings forecasts, following a string of better-than-expected earnings reports that had stretched back years.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
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