Tesla fell for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, taking some of the shine off a tremendous late-year rally.
Tesla stock dropped again after a three-day losing streak.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker closed 3.3% lower at $403.84 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 dropped 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%.
While shares fell 17% from an intraday high of $488.84 reached on Dec. 18, they still gained about 17% in December and 61% since the Nov. 5 election.
For the year, Tesla stock rose about 63% after rising 102% in 2023. The 2024 return was Tesla’s fourth-best annual return. Tesla initially sold stock to the public in June 2010 at a split-adjusted $1.13 a share. Shares have suffered annual declines twice.
Up next for Tesla investors is the company’s fourth-quarter production and delivery numbers expected to be released on Thursday.
The auto maker delivered 462,890 vehicles in the third quarter, up 6% from the prior year. While the report topped Wall Street’s expectations for 462,000, it triggered a slide in the stock.
For the fourth quarter, analysts are anticipating around 510,000 units, falling short of the company’s 515,000 target. Still, that would be a record. Tesla’s best quarterly delivery on record was 484,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
For all of 2024, Tesla is predicted to deliver a total of around 1.8 million cars, flat with 2023. And for 2025, analysts expect closer to 2.1 million.
It remains to be seen whether demand for Tesla vehicles will fall under the second Donald Trump administration. While the president-elect has vowed to create a federal framework for self-driving vehicles—something that would benefit Tesla given plans to launch a self-driving robo-taxi service in late 2025—he is also expected to do away with EV purchase tax credits.
The current version of Federal purchase tax credits went into effect in January 2023 after President Joe Biden passed the Inflation Reduction Act, docking the purchase price of a new EV by up to $7,500.
Some analysts have noted that Tesla has the global size and scale to remain profitable in the absence of credits, meaning it would be impacted less than more U.S.-centric competitors like General Motors.
Tesla also is set to debut a lower-priced model in the first half of 2025, starting at around $30,000. That should help offset any reduction in demand from reduced federal subsidies.
Even more than fourth-quarter deliveries, a new model and robo-taxi service are what investors are focused on for 2025. Tesla management hitting its timelines for both will go a long way to keeping investors happy in the new year.
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