Tesla deliveries drop 13% amid backlash against CEO Elon Musk

(NEW YORK) -- Deliveries of Elon Musk's Tesla vehicles dropped about 13% compared to a year ago, according to a new release from the company. The decline comes amid criticism of Musk and increased competition.

On Wednesday, Tesla reported it produced over 362,000 vehicles and delivered over 336,000 in the first quarter of 2025. That performance marked a decline compared to the same period one year ago, when Tesla produced over 433,000 vehicles and delivered about 387,000.

Tesla stock fell nearly 3% in early trading on Wednesday following the news of the decline in deliveries. But the stock reversed those losses after reports that President Donald Trump told advisers that Musk may leave his White House role.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tesla shares were up about 5%.

The company has faced fierce backlash -- including violence and vandalism against its cars and dealerships-- as Musk, the company's CEO, works in Washington alongside Donald Trump to slash the federal government.

Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, a longtime Tesla bull, slammed the report and sharply criticized the company in a note to clients on Wednesday.

"We are not going to look at these numbers with rose colored glasses," Ives said. "They were a disaster on every metric."

"The time has come for Musk," Ives added." It's a fork in the road moment."

In its release today, Tesla made no mention of its CEO but did say that a "changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1." But, it said "the ramp of the New Model Y continues to go well."

"Thank you to all our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us achieve these results," the release said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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