Ouch.
Dethroned
Tesla used to maintain an iron grip over electric car sales in the US, forging a new path for environmentally friendly alternatives to gas-guzzling consumer vehicles.
But even as sales for EVs are reaching record highs, Tesla’s control over the market is starting to seriously wane, slipping below 50 percent in the second quarter of this year, the New York Times reports. Tesla represented 49.7 percent of EV sales over that period, down from 59.3 percent in Q2 of last year.
However, demand for electric vehicles is still growing, with sales increasing 11.3 percent year over year, according to vehicle marketing firm Cox Automotive.
In other words, Tesla is finally starting to succumb to its growing competition, undermining its long-held authoritative positioning in the industry — a fate that has long been predicted by experts and accelerated by the behavior of its highly polarizing CEO Elon Musk.
Give a Lux
According to a new report by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Americans can choose from a total of 113 battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell cars, giving them a substantial amount of alternatives to Tesla’s offerings. There are four different electric pickups alone competing with Tesla’s Cybertruck.
Meanwhile, prices are starting to drop, making them more appealing to a larger slice of the population.
And that’s especially relevant for Tesla, which has historically struggled to keep prices low and has pursued a more luxury-oriented demographic.
The Musk-led company has also struggled with long repair times, frustrating customers.
And Tesla’s domestic competition is really starting to heat up. Case in point, Chevrolet is expected to put out an Equinox SUV that costs just $35,000 before a federal tax credit of $7,500, according to the NYT.
Tesla is still reeling from disappointing sales, posting its first quarter-over-quarter decline earlier this year, egged on by Musk’s abysmal behavior.
Its shares rallied this month, however, following the approval of Musk’s massive pay package and better-than-expected deliveries in Q2, indicating that 2024 isn’t turning out to be a complete write-off.
More on Tesla: Elon Musk Forcing Tesla to Train Self-Driving Cars On His Own Driving
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