Tesla quarterly shares plunge; ‘These numbers suck,’ says investor Ross Gerber

By Zdravko Yazhikov

Tesla’s report for the first trimester of the year revealed a 13 percent decline in sales, compared to the same period last year. 

With almost 337,000 electric vehicles sold, 50,000 less than early 2024, Elon Musk’s company suffered the largest drop in deliveries in its history, leaving more territory for its competitors. 

The market cap of the EV giant also fell by $460 billion, making the first months of 2025 even worse. 

Are Musk’s politics causing the disappointing results?

According to Tesla, the disappointing results are related to changes in its Model Y car that halted production for several weeks in four of its production facilities. 

Analysts, however, disagree and point the finger back at Musk whose involvement in the Trump administration, as the head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), has sparked criticism. 

“These numbers suck. The brand is broken and may not be fixable,” Tesla investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management wrote on X.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said a bad Q1 report was coming, but “this was even worse than expected”. 

“This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla.” 

“This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla.”

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Results cause shares to plummet

The company declined to comment on the report and assign blame for its poor performance, but said the released data contains only two measures which “should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results”. 

Shortly after the news broke out, Tesla’s shares plummeted by 2 percent, followed by a rebound after Politico revealed President Trump had told his inner circle that Elon Musk is going to step down from his position in the administration. 

Later, the White House dismissed the report and confirmed that the tech billionaire will stay in his role until “his incredible work at DOGE is complete”. 

Over the last several weeks, the protests against President Trump’s closest ally have spiked with demonstrations outside Tesla’s showrooms in the US, Canada and the EU, making the company’s cars and EV stations targets of vandalism. 

Since December 2024, Tesla’s shares have lost 44 percent of their value while $100 billion was wiped off Musk’s wealth. 

The problems for the company are not restricted to the US market – sales in Europe also fell by a staggering 49 percent in the first two months of the quarter alone. 

Analysts believe the sharp decline is retribution against Musk’s support of far-right parties in the UK and Germany. 

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