Tesla shares fall 6.6% after sales fall for the first time in a decade amid fierce competition

Shares of Tesla fell 6.6 percent yesterday after Elon Musk’s electric car maker reported its first decline in annual sales in more than a decade amid fierce competition.

The Texas company has risen in value since the US presidential elections, in which Musk (photo) supported the winning candidate Donald Trump.

That helped Musk’s personal wealth soar above $400 billion (£323 billion).

But Wall Street was disappointed with electric vehicle (EV) sales in the fourth quarter.

Incentives such as discounts failed to boost demand for the aging model range amid fierce competition from rivals including China’s BYD.

Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles in the three months to December 31, missing estimates of 503,269 units.

Deliveries for 2024 were 1.79 million – down 1.1 percent from a year ago. BYD yesterday reported a 41 percent increase in electric vehicle sales to 1.77 million.

It was the first time Tesla reported a year-over-year decline in deliveries since 2011. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The shine is off Tesla.”

But analysts at Wedbush said Trump’s presidency will accelerate Tesla’s growth.

They said: ‘We have always seen Musk and Tesla as a leading global player in disruptive technology and the first part of this grand strategic vision has taken shape over the past five years.

“The next step in this broader strategic vision is the autonomous and AI era that will accelerate under a Trump White House.”