What’s wrong with Tesla

Tesla last quarter posted its first annual sales decline since the pandemic – a drop that was significantly worse than expected. The company blamed a weak Chinese economy, arson at its German factory and supply constraints because of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Last quarter, Tesla posted its first annual sales decline since the pandemic — a drop that was significantly worse than expected. The company blamed a weak Chinese economy, arson at its German factory and supply constraints because of escalating conflict in the Middle East. Those factors certainly aren’t helping. But Tesla’s problems can’t all be blamed on outside factors. Some of it is inevitable. New competitors have entered the market and, at some point, they had to start taking sales away from Tesla. And now they are. Tesla made itself an easy target by failing to introduce new products fast enough to maintain customer interest. Also, its chief executive, Elon Musk, has become someone many people don’t want to associate themselves with, even for a good car. Meanwhile, overall electric vehicle sales in the United States have flattened out in recent months. EV sales growth has been slowing for a while but in the last two quarters, EV sales didn’t increase much at all, according to estimates from Cox Automotive. But, upon closer inspection, what seems like widespread disinterest in electric vehicles may reflect, largely, less interest in Tesla.