NEW YORK: Sales of Tesla electric cars fell 13 per cent in the last three months as boycotts over Elon Musk’s political views continue to keep buyers away, a significant development given expectations that anger with the company’s billionaire CEO would have faded by now.
The plunging sales add to growing signs that Musk’s embrace of US President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe has had a deep and enduring hit to Tesla’s brand appeal.
The new figures are also a possible sign that Tesla could disappoint when it announces second-quarter earnings later this month. In the first three months this year, net income fell 71%.
Sales fell to 384,122 in April through June, down from 443,956 in the same period last year. During this period, Musk formally left the Trump administration as a cost-cutting czar, and hopes rose that sales would recover.
On Wall Street, Tesla shares rose around 5 % on Wednesday (July 2) after the electric-vehicle company said it delivered nearly 374,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y automobiles last quarter, which was better than analysts expected, according to FactSet.
