Shareholders want Musk to 'get out of the government'- Analyst on 'disastrous' Q1 Tesla deliveries

Record ID: 1987771

  • Title: Shareholders want Musk to 'get out of the government'- Analyst on 'disastrous' Q1 Tesla deliveries
  • Date: 2nd April 2025
  • Summary: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (APRIL 2, 2025) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF BMW PLANT BMW LOGO VARIOUS OF BMW CARS PASSING THROUGH SECURITY AT PLANT VARIOUS OF BMW CARS LEAVING PLANT TRUCK LOADED WITH BMW CARS DEPARTING PLANT UNKNOWN LOCATION, SOUTH AFRICA (APRIL 2, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SOUTH AFRICA'S NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT AND
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Q1 Tesla analyst deliveries protest
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA005365002042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tesla's quarterly sales plunged 13% to the weakest in nearly three years on Wednesday (April 2), hurt by a backlash against CEO Elon Musk's politics, rising global competition, and people waiting for a refresh to its highest-selling electric vehicle Model Y.
    In the January-March period, the company globally recorded a bigger-than-expected drop in sales to 336,681 vehicles, down from 386,810 units a year ago.
    “Disastrous numbers. Look, their brand is starting to deteriorate,” said Ken Mahoney, president and CEO at Mahoney Asset Management, which owns Tesla stock. “Shareholders, including myself, I'd like to see him come back and get out of the government.”
    The expectation was for a 3.7% drop to 372,410 vehicles delivered, according to an average estimate of 15 analysts from Visible Alpha - but in recent days analysts had braced for even worse figures, following Tesla's first-ever annual sales decline in 2024.
    Tesla posted weak sales in numerous European markets and in China, even as consumers continued to opt for EVs.
    The stumbling sales indicate that the one-time leading brand is reeling from the fallout of the company delaying launches for years, and Musk's foray into politics in the United States and Europe.
    Tesla shares fell 2% in early trading on Wednesday. But they reversed course to trade up more than 5% after Politico reported that Musk was planning to step down from his role as an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump soon, as administration insiders increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability.
    "Shareholders want a little love. Come on, Elon Musk, you know what to do here. Show a little love come back home a little bit." said Mahoney.
    Musk's role in spearheading federal cost-cutting in the United States and support of far-right parties in Germany and other nations, have produced a sharp response across the world.
    Protests have spiked, and Tesla cars and dealerships globally have become targets for vandalism. Some Tesla owners have been looking to disassociate themselves from Musk and data has shown many are trading in their vehicles.
    On Tuesday (April 1), a left-leaning judge won a seat on the state of Wisconsin's highest court even after Musk spent more than $20 million backing her opponent in the race that led to protests from residents declaring that democracy was "not for sale."
    Mahoney holds a position ranging from 'neutral' to 'bullish' on Tesla stocks, asserting that "it can't get worse than this," and remains optimistic about the company's future. He referred to Elon Musk as "the Einstein of our time" and cited his belief in Tesla's technology
    "We do believe in their technology. And there's technology we know, and there's technology we don't know. And there's a lot of intellectual property around it. They get a lot of patents. They're going to make a very interesting AI splash, I'm sure, when they're ready to do that,” said Mahoney.
    (Production: Kyoko Gasha)
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