Proactive Investors - Tesla shares tumbled to a six-month low overnight as investors reacted to the EV maker’s first sales drop in four years.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant delivered 386,800 cars in the three months to March, down more than 8% on the same period a year ago.
Factory shutdowns on the back of Red Sea shipping diversions and an arson attack on its Berlin Gigafactory were to blame, Tesla said.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described the update as an "unmitigated disaster ... that is hard to explain away".
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares had already been under pressure due to a price war in China as manufacturers based there such as BYD and Xiaomi have massively increased their EV output.
Tesla tanks as sales drop for first time in four years
Ives said the figures suggested the first quarter had been a "train wreck into a brick wall" for the company.
"This is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise troubling days could be ahead," the note added.
Demand for electric cars in the West in particular has failed yet to meet expectations due to infrastructure issues and the cost, while concerns over Tesla’s safety record have slowed its driverless car programme.
Musk himself has also faced criticism from Wedbush for being too preoccupied with his recent acquisition Twitter/X at a time when Tesla needs his full attention.