Tesla is facing a tough period as Chinese demand continues to be weak, which will weigh on the number of deliveries in the first quarter, said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, according to Marketwatch.
Tesla usually publishes the number of delivered cars shortly after the quarter is over – which acts as a proxy for sales figures in the quarter.
According to the FatcSet consensus, it is expected that Tesla delivered 457,000 cars in the first quarter, compared to 423,000 cars in the same quarter last year. In that case, there will be a decrease from the expectations in late January, which then stood at 494,000 cars.
Ives believes the automaker has had a “nightmare quarter” in a perfect storm of demand problems that have helped send consensus expectations sharply lower.
In addition to Ives, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner is out cutting his expectations for the first quarter.
He believes Tesla delivered 414,000 cars in the quarter – a cut from the previous expectation of 427,000 cars. Much of the cut concerns weaker than expected sales in China, as well as production cuts in the country.
At the same time, Rosner cuts expectations for 2024 from 2.06 million to 1.9 million cars.
“Although Tesla has announced that it will raise prices in the US and China with effect from April, we see it more as an attempt to increase sales in March than as a sign of solid demand,” writes Rosner.
