Tesla’s Chinese Car Deliveries Will Be Closely Watched

Tesla is under scrutiny as Wall Street awaits an update this week on its vehicle deliveries in China—a key market where sales have been under pressure amid political backlash tied to CEO Elon Musk, Al Root and Janet H. Cho reported for Barron’s Daily.

In the first six weeks of the second quarter, Tesla’s Chinese sales—based on vehicle registration data—were down roughly 26% from a year ago. I Photo: Tesla Asia X

In April, Musk pledged to scale back his political commentary and refocus on Tesla after the company reported a 13% year-over-year decline in first-quarter deliveries. Wall Street is now bracing for a second consecutive quarterly drop, expecting a 7% decline in year-over-year deliveries for Q2.

Early data paints a bleak picture. In the first six weeks of the second quarter, Tesla’s Chinese sales—based on vehicle registration data—were down roughly 26% from a year ago.

Sales in Europe are also under pressure: April deliveries in France, Germany, and the UK were down 49% year-over-year, following a 45% drop in Q1.

A weekly delivery figure of 13,000 units in China would suggest stabilization. But anything below that could force analysts to revise down their second-quarter projections.