Stock market today: Tesla share price crashes even as Elon Musk's company witnesses jump in China model sales

Elon Musk-headed Tesla's quarterly auto sales rose 6.3 per cent but miss U.S. Stock Market estimates. Tesla stocks were down by nearly 4 per cent in the pre-market trading at Nasdaq. This comes even though Tesla's China-made ​electric vehicle sales rose for ​a second consecutive quarter, holding up despite intensifying ​competition as the U.S. automaker broadened its focus beyond EVs.

Tesla Sales

Tesla missed Wall Street expectations for first-quarter deliveries on ​Thursday, as the expiry of U.S. tax ​credits on the purchase of electric vehicles weighed on demand, sending ​its shares down nearly 4 per cent in premarket trading. The company delivered 358,023 vehicles in the January-March period, down 14.4 per cent from the fourth quarter, up 6.3 per cent from a year earlier.


Analysts on average had expected deliveries of 368,903 vehicles, according to ‌Visible Alpha ⁠data.

Tesla has ⁠posted two consecutive years of declining deliveries for the first time in its history. Analysts have slashed their forecasts ​for deliveries in 2026, with some also warning of a third straight annual drop.

Tesla ceded its title as ​the world's largest electric vehicle maker last year, as BYD's surging battery electric vehicle sales overtook the American automaker for the first time.

While Europe weighed on Tesla's global figures last year, the ​company has since showed signs of stabilization, gaining market share ⁠in key markets ‌such as France in the first quarter of 2026.

Tesla China Model Sales

Sales of Model 3 and Model Y cars made in Tesla's Shanghai factory, including ‌exports to ⁠Europe ⁠and other markets, rose 8.7 per cent from a year earlier to 85,670 ​vehicles in March, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on ​Thursday.

That marked a fifth straight month of rising sales, driven by recovering European demand. Analysts also said Tesla ​and other EV makers could benefit from ⁠higher oil ‌prices triggered by the Iran crisis.

For the ​January-March period, ​sales increased 23.5 per cent year on year, accelerating from ⁠a 1.9 per cent rise in the fourth quarter.

Tesla's ​global first-quarter deliveries are expected to rebound nearly ​10 per cent from a year-earlier slump, when a backlash by some consumers against CEO Elon Musk's political views weighed on demand.

Facing intense competition especially from Chinese rivals, Tesla lost nearly half its European market share last year, while its ‌share of China's EV market fell to 8 per cent from 10 per cent in 2024.

Its biggest Chinese rival, ​BYD , has continued ​to pressure the ⁠U.S. EV maker in Europe, though strong overseas growth has been insufficient to offset BYD's struggles in its home market.