- Elon Musk claims that Tesla has seen a major rebound in demand.
- The statement comes after slowing sales. Last year, Tesla deliveries were down after a decade of growth.
- The most recent numbers don't support that claim; in Q1 2025, deliveries were down 13%.
Tesla’s sales woes have been well-documented as of late.
Last year, the American electric car maker’s decade of growth came to a screeching halt, despite record sales in the last quarter. Then, the bomb dropped in the first quarter of this year, when the company’s global deliveries dropped by 13%. At the same time, electric vehicle sales numbers went up in the United States, Europe, and China.
Now, though, Elon Musk, Tesla’s outspoken CEO, has a more official explanation: he claims that it all comes down to the retooling needed for the refreshed Model Y, the world's best-selling EV and best-selling car by some metrics.
“As for Q1, we had a global factory changeover for the Model Y,” Musk said during a CNBC interview. “So there's a new version of the Model Y that came out, which required a factory shutdown across the world. The Model Y is the number one selling car in the world, so, you know, we can’t make cars if the factories are retooling,” the CEO added.
Musk said that the right time to retool factories for an upgraded car is the first quarter because that’s when the least demand occurs during the year. “We’ve seen a major rebound in demand at this point,” he added.
This alleged rebound is yet to make its way in the sales figures, though.
In April, the first month of the second quarter, Tesla’s numbers continued to spiral in the red, especially in Europe, where it recorded drops as big as 80% in some countries. In China, Tesla sales went down 9% last month, while the overall EV market went up 38%.
In the United States, sales numbers are not yet available for April, and Tesla only publishes quarterly sales data, so we’ll have to rely on estimates from specialists like Cox Automotive and S&P Global Mobility. That said, the introduction of a cheaper entry-level Model Y and a planned production pause at the company’s factory in Austin, Texas, are signs that demand isn’t exactly booming right now.
A big reason for the drop in sales is Musk’s controversial relationship with President Donald Trump and the salute-that-wasn't-a-salute. However, Tesla’s chief doesn’t think much of it.
“There have been some pros and cons,” Musk said about the potential brand damage brought by his involvement in the government. “When you buy a product, how much do you care about the political views of the CEO, or do you even know what they are?” Tesla’s head honcho said during his interview with CNBC.
As the sales data for the second quarter of 2025 rolls in, we'll soon find out.
