Absatzrückgang, politische Störungen, technologische Wetten: Krisen und Ausbrüche von Tesla
The stock price is falling and sales are suffering. Tesla, a star car company, is at a critical moment. Apart from market competition factors, much of the attention and controversy surrounding this company comes from its leader, Elon Musk.
The sales fell short of expectations. On July 2nd, Tesla released its production and sales data for the second quarter of 2025. It delivered 384,100 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 13.5%. In the first half of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 720,800 vehicles globally, 110,000 fewer than the 831,000 vehicles delivered in the same period last year.
In the European market, Chinese car companies expanding overseas have gradually increased their sales volume, eroding Tesla's market share. In the Chinese market, models such as the Xiaomi SU7 have surpassed Tesla in terms of sales in the segmented market.
After Omead Afshar, a core executive who had long served as the head of Tesla's North American and European operations, left the company, Musk personally took over several key functional areas, which reflects the company's direct response to the sales pressure internally.
In terms of the stock price, the capital market has rather complex sentiments towards Tesla. On July 1st, when Musk and US President Trump accused each other, Tesla's stock price fell by more than 5%, causing Musk's personal net worth to evaporate by about $700 million. On July 2nd, after the release of the production and sales data, Tesla's stock price rose by nearly 5% again.
Some people in the investment community said that with the launch of new models, Tesla's sales are expected to bottom out and rebound. Compared with Tesla, they are worried about whether Musk's high - profile return to Tesla is a blessing or a curse.
Musk has pushed Tesla to the dual frontiers of technology and politics, and has also tied the company's brand to the train of his personal uncertainties.
Since 2025, Musk has been quite active in US politics. He not only serves as the head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), but also constantly expresses his support for conservative issues through the social platform X. This has made consumers with different political views from him stop buying Tesla cars, and there have also been attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships in the United States. Now, Musk's public confrontation with US President Trump has once again caused Tesla's market value to evaporate by tens of billions of dollars.
Musk has prescribed three remedies for Tesla. First, stabilize profits and secure gains. Against the backdrop of declining sales, Tesla has raised its prices against the trend. Second, make Tesla a pioneer in autonomous driving and future mobility, and make the capital market accept this narrative. Third, explore emerging markets including India, even though it faces great uncertainties and high costs.
Political disputes, market decline, technological gambles, and overseas expansion are intertwined. The future of Tesla is full of uncertainties. At present, when the capital market's sensitivity to corporate strategies is unprecedentedly magnified, the fates of Musk and Tesla are no longer limited to factory production capacity and sales data, but are influenced by more complex public opinions, regulations, and political variables. In the second half of 2025, Tesla will face key tests in multiple dimensions. Each breakthrough may redefine the company's valuation logic and growth path.
Declining Deliveries and Senior Management Changes
In the second quarter of 2025, Tesla's global deliveries were 384,100 vehicles, a 13.5% decrease compared to the 444,000 vehicles delivered in the same period in 2024. This is the worst quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2022 and also falls short of the market's expectation of 390,000 vehicles. The weak deliveries reflect that Tesla is facing continuous pressure on the demand side, especially in key markets such as Europe and China, where sales have declined significantly.
In the European market, the number of newly registered Tesla cars in May fell by more than 40%. The market share in many countries has been rapidly eroded by Chinese electric vehicle brands such as BYD. Since April, BYD's monthly sales in Europe have exceeded Tesla's for the first time, and it has rapidly expanded its market share with its more cost - effective product portfolio and local cooperation network. BYD's electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2025 were 1.0234 million vehicles, while Tesla's pure - electric vehicle deliveries in the same period were about 720,800 vehicles, with a difference of about 303,000 vehicles between the two.
Although the Chinese market has recovered in some months, for example, the deliveries of the Shanghai factory increased slightly month - on - month in June, the overall performance is still worse than that of the same period last year. Tesla is also facing strong competition from Chinese car - making companies. According to the data released by Cui Dongshu, the secretary - general of the Passenger Car Association, in the second quarter of 2025, the top three in the global pure - electric vehicle market share were BYD, Geely, and Tesla, with corresponding shares of 21%, 12%, and 11% respectively. The rise of such local new forces has further compressed Tesla's price and functional advantages in the Chinese market.
Facing the pressure on deliveries and the market, there have also been major personnel changes in Tesla's senior management team. At the end of June, Omead Afshar, who had long served as the head of Tesla's North American and European operations, officially left the company. As a close confidant of Musk, Afshar had led the implementation of several key projects. His departure is regarded as one of the signals of the company's organizational structure adjustment. Musk immediately took over core functions including North American and European sales, service, and manufacturing. The outside world generally believes that this move is a direct response to the declining sales and team instability.
The Asia - Pacific business is still being coordinated by Zhu Xiaotong, the global vice - president of Tesla and the head of the Greater China region. He once led the construction of the Shanghai Gigafactory and the integration of the local supply chain, and is one of the key figures in the company's expansion in the Asia - Pacific region.
While readjusting the global regional teams, Musk has also repeatedly stated that he will "disengage" from government affairs and focus on products and operations. As early as in the earnings conference call in April, he announced that he would end his part - time role in the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) in the United States to fully focus on the company's core business.
Musk Caught in a Political Vortex
Tesla's investors have complex feelings towards Musk. On the one hand, he has been very successful in terms of performance. Over the past few decades, Musk has led Tesla to where it is today, making it the world's most well - known electric vehicle company. On the other hand, there are too many controversies, especially Musk's frequent statements in the public opinion field, which have brought a lot of external controversies to Tesla.
Since 2025, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been more active in the political field than the outside world expected. He not only serves as the head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) in the US federal government, actually having access to multiple federal databases, but also frequently voices his opinions on politics and expresses his support for the conservative camp on the X platform.
This entrepreneur, once hailed as a symbol of technological innovation, is now widely questioned by the public opinion whether he is abusing his corporate influence to promote his personal political agenda. A survey in the United States shows that more than 57% of American adults have a negative view of Musk himself, and more than half of the respondents have a poor overall impression of Tesla. Among them, about 30% are Republican supporters, indicating that he is losing the support of some of the original conservative camp.
At the beginning of June, a round of public confrontation between Musk and Trump on social media became the focus of politics and the capital market. On that day, Tesla's stock price plummeted, and its market value evaporated by more than tens of billions of dollars at one point, becoming one of the rare high - volatility moments in the company's history.
Subsequently, Musk criticized the core provisions of the "Big Beautiful Bill", including gradually reducing electric vehicle tax subsidies, strengthening the federal contract review mechanism for large technology companies, and increasing import tariffs on parts from countries such as China. These policies are regarded by him as a blow to the clean energy industry. Musk also threatened to support all candidates who oppose the bill in the next election and hinted that if the bill is passed, he will personally engage in political confrontation.
In response, Trump said that he would revoke the government subsidies that Tesla and SpaceX currently enjoy and demanded a review of whether Musk has a conflict of interest in the DOGE department. On July 1st, after the two accused each other again, Tesla's stock price fell by more than 5%, and Musk's personal net worth evaporated by about $700 million. However, the stock price rebounded briefly after the company released its delivery data the next day.
In Europe, Musk's political remarks have also triggered a strong backlash. Especially in Germany, influenced by Musk's public expression of political views, many MPs have called on the EU to review his company's projects. In countries such as France and the Netherlands, there have also been cases where Tesla users reported that their vehicles were damaged because they had posted Musk's portrait, which has sparked extensive discussions.
Since February 2025, a protest movement called "Tesla Takedown" has been intensifying in many places in Europe and the United States. Some consumers have chosen to sell their Tesla cars and company stocks to express their dissatisfaction with Musk's political stance.
The second rift between Musk and Trump is not only a personal feud but also a deep interweaving of political attitudes and corporate development interests. This dispute has forced Tesla to make a difficult balance between technological development, public credibility in public opinion, and political loyalty.
Autonomous Driving and Robotaxi: Musk's Technological Gamble
Against the backdrop of continuous pressure on traditional vehicle sales, Musk is trying to tell a new story - Tesla is not just a car company, but also a future mobility company with advanced autonomous driving capabilities.
In June 2025, a Model Y started from the Austin Gigafactory and dropped off the user at the door without any manual operation. During the process, the vehicle reached a speed of 72 miles per hour (about 116 kilometers per hour) without any human intervention. Currently, Tesla has deployed a test fleet of Robotaxis (autonomous taxis) in Austin, providing mobility services within a fixed area with a fixed fee of $4.2.
The above news once boosted the confidence of the capital market in Tesla. Investment institutions raised their target stock prices for Tesla, and the stock price also rose for a while.
Musk has publicly stated many times that Tesla plans to put millions of Robotaxi vehicles on the market before 2026. However, the technical feasibility of autonomous driving is still in the verification stage, and the regulatory uncertainties pose a more realistic obstacle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States has not issued clear licensing provisions for such L4 - level and above autonomous driving systems so far. In late June 2025, the NHTSA launched another investigation into Tesla regarding its FSD (Full Self - Driving) related systems, requiring the company to submit complete test data related to recognition mechanisms, brake control, and responses to urban road conditions.
Despite the continuous controversies, autonomous driving is irreplaceable for Tesla's strategic significance. Against the backdrop of weak growth in traditional sales, the rise of competitors, tightened new - energy subsidies, and the disturbance of global public opinion by political risks, autonomous driving has become the key engine for Tesla to restart its valuation. Musk's gamble is not only on the possibility of technological breakthroughs but also on the patience of the capital market to bet on the future.
Testing the Waters in India at a High Price: Tesla's Long - Term Bet
Facing the pressure in the global mainstream markets, Musk is trying to reduce Tesla's dependence on the three major markets of China, the United States, and Europe and find new sales growth points by entering emerging economies with a large population dividend.
Tesla plans to open its first showroom in the Indian market in mid - July 2025 in Mumbai. The first batch of 5 rear - wheel - drive Model Y SUVs imported from the Shanghai factory are priced at about 2.77 million rupees (about $32,000 per vehicle). The import tax in India is as high as more than 2.1 million rupees, and the estimated terminal price will exceed $56,000, more than 20% higher than the US price.
Entering the Indian market does not just mean transporting vehicles and opening stores. Tesla is also importing super - chargers, accessories, and spare parts at the same time, and is preparing to establish a warehousing and logistics system in India. It also intends to continuously expand its retail, service, and policy teams in the Indian market.
Currently, the penetration rate of new - energy vehicles in India is only about 5%, and the market share of high - end cars (with a single - vehicle price higher than $56,000) is less than 2%. Such a high price may make it difficult for Tesla to open up the market in the short term, but the company's internal management views it as a long - term strategy, aiming to follow a steady development path of "comparing the total volume first and then relying on localization".
In February 2025, Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since then, the two sides have accelerated their dialogue on tariffs, subsidies, and manufacturing conditions. Although the Indian Minister of Heavy Industries clearly stated at that time that there were no plans to build a factory, the company will still focus on the construction of showrooms and charging infrastructure.
Overall, Musk's recent high - profile political intervention has brought unprecedented public opinion and social responses to Tesla, resulting in a wave of consumer boycotts and market fluctuations. Although Tesla is continuously promoting its layout in energy storage and intelligent driving, if the downward trend of its core revenue source cannot be effectively curbed, the company's value and growth prospects will face greater uncertainties.
Multiple challenges such as pressure on sales, political resistance, and intensified competition are urging Tesla to accelerate its strategic transformation and seek new growth points. The layout in the Indian market and the launch of the Robotaxi service are important measures for the company to respond to environmental changes. However, both of these paths face many tests such as policies, costs, public acceptance, and technological maturity, and it will take time to verify whether they can become new business pillars.
In the second half of the year, Tesla needs to pass several core node verifications: whether new products will be launched on time; whether the delivery volume can make up for the target of 1 million vehicles; whether the Robotaxi can make breakthroughs in terms of compliance and scale - up; whether the sales in the Chinese and Indian markets can recover. These key nodes will determine whether Tesla can redeem itself. If it fails to achieve these goals as scheduled, Tesla may face a dilemma of stalled growth; if it succeeds, this star car company may start a new growth cycle.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Financial Auto". Author: Chen Jia, Li Xiyin. Republished by 36Kr with permission.