Musk takes political step down as Tesla earnings suffer slump

TESLA disclosed a significant drop in first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, falling short of Wall Street's expectations as the electric vehicle manufacturer faced challenges with decelerating demand, intensifying competition, and increasing brand difficulties linked to CEO Elon Musk’s political engagements.

- SASKIA KOOPMAN

The company’s net income plummeted by 71% year-over-year to $409m (£307m), while revenue decreased by 9% to $0.27bn, not meeting the consensus forecasts of $0.43bn.

Operating income took a 66% hit, descending to $0.4bn, and the firm's operating margin shrank to 2.1% from 11.4% the previous year.

In terms of vehicle deliveries, Tesla managed 336,681 units during the quarter, a 13% decline, marking its most lacklustre delivery performance since 2022.