Tesla sales are recovering a little, but the trend lines are all bad

Instead, analysts look at how this quarter compares to the previous quarter, and they don’t find much to like. Tesla said it delivered 358,023 vehicles to customers, down 14 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. It produced 408,306 vehicles, down 6 percent quarter-on-quarter.

In other words, Tesla is still in a tough spot, having recorded two consecutive years of declining sales. It’s making and selling fewer cars than it used to, as Musk tries to move his company away from car sales and toward robotaxis and humanoid robots. In Europe, the company has lost nearly half its market share thanks to increasing competition, especially from Chinese brands, and Musk’s hard-right political comments.

Globally, electric vehicle sales have declined. Tesla, along with most other automakers, was hurt by the elimination of the $7,500 federal tax credit on electric vehicles. Dozens of electric models have been canceled or delayed in recent weeks.

In 2025, Tesla generated revenue of $94.8 billion, of which $69.5 billion — or 73% — came from vehicle sales. Its automotive revenues have been in free fall, down 10 percent year-on-year, while its other revenue sources – power generation and storage; Services and other revenues – are on the rise. But even there, things are unclear. Last quarter, Tesla said it deployed 8.8 gigawatt-hours of energy products, which is down from the 10.4 gigawatt-hours of storage the company deployed in the first quarter of 2025.

In all major categories — auto sales, production, and energy storage — Tesla fell short of expectations. Wall Street analysts had expected 370,000 cars to be delivered to customers and 14.4 gigawatt hours of storage. However, Musk continues to promote the message that Tesla was on the cusp of becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Of course, most of his focus will likely be on Imminent public appearance For his other company SpaceX, which is expected to be historic and Make him dramatically richer than it actually is. The company was valued at $1.25 trillion after its recent merger with Musk’s xAI. Tesla’s struggles certainly seem quaint by comparison.