Tesla shares fell 8% Thursday after the company reported a second straight quarter of declining auto sales.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker reported a top and bottom line miss on second-quarter results, noting that automotive revenue fell 16% year-on-year to $16.7 billion.
On an earnings call, Musk said Tesla “probably could have a few rough quarters” ahead as a result of the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits.
“I am not saying that we will, but we could,” Musk said.
Tesla has been facing rising competition in key markets like China and Europe, especially from lower cost Chinese EV players.
Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, released on Thursday showed Tesla’s new car registrations declined in June in Europe.
Tesla shares have been hammered this year, with the stock down nearly 18% to date, not including the Thursday premarket move.
Along with Tesla’s core auto business coming under pressure, Musk’s own political activity has been in focus.
The tech billionaire played a key role at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under President Donald Trump’s administration and has endorsed Germany’s extreme anti-immigrant AfD party.
In recent months, the two former allies have clashed over the president’s spending bill. Musk has since said he is forming his own political party.
Some investors have urged the billionaire to step away from politics, for fear that his involvement is hurting Tesla’s brand and sales.
Tesla investors have been eagerly waiting for the company to release a cheaper model to refresh the aging lineup and perhaps reinvigorate sales. Tesla management said it started limited production of the more affordable model in June and expects to ramp that up in the second half of the year.
Still, the outlook for the rest of the year remains murky as Tesla did not provide any official guidance — in a departure from earlier this year, when management said Tesla would return to growth in 2025.
“Management initially guided for deliveries growth in 2025. We interpret no guidance as a signal that management is no longer forecasting volume growth. This aligns with our expectation for deliveries to decline in 2025,” Seth Goldstein, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a Wednesday note.