EV Makers Had A Good Year — Except Tesla

Ford, General Motors, and China’s BYD reported strong 2024 results, while Tesla’s annual deliveries declined for the first time in the company’s history.

The Details: Tesla’s global annual deliveries dropped 1.1% below 2023 deliveries, though Q4 sales were 2.3% higher compared to Q4 of 2023. When markets closed on Thursday, Tesla’s stock price was 18% below its peak on December 26. A small recovery on Friday didn’t fully offset the losses. Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) producer BYD beat its 2024 goal of 4 million EV deliveries and reported record-high sales. Ford and GM reported their best annual U.S. sales totals since 2019, partially due to the growth of their EV sales by 38% and 50%, respectively.

How The Media Covered It: CNBC (Center bias) reported that analysts overestimated Tesla’s capacity to grow vehicle sales. It quoted the editor-in-chief of InsideEVs, who said the company failed to bring in more affordable vehicles, and its new Cybertruck is expensive and “piling up on used car lots.” Analysts told the New York Times (Lean Left bias) that Tesla’s stronger Q4 sales may have been driven by consumers taking advantage of EV tax credits before President-elect Donald Trump ends them. The New York Post (Lean Right bias) focused on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s cozy relationship with Trump, believing it to be an attempt to bring “regulatory relief” to the company.