Planning to buy a new Tesla? You will have plenty to choose from.
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Elon Musk’s automaker announced on Thursday that it had produced 50,000 more vehicles than it sold in the first three months of the year, a sign that the company is struggling to shift its EVs amid an industry-wide downturn.
It’s the largest gap between production and sales in Tesla’s history, with the EV giant historically excelling at closely matching supply with demand.
The last time it came close to producing this many unsold vehicles was the same period in 2024, when production outstripped deliveries by 46,500 units.
Tesla’s share price dropped as much as 4% on Thursday as the company announced quarterly sales that missed Wall Street’s expectations.
The Model Y maker sold 358,023 EVs in the first quarter, up 6% from the same period last year but below average analyst forecasts of 372,160 compiled by Bloomberg.
Along with the rest of the auto industry, Tesla is battling a major slowdown in EV demand after the Trump administration scrapped the $7,500 tax credit for a new electric vehicle last September.
US electric vehicle sales have plunged 28% in the first three months of 2026, according to Cox Automotive estimates, and Tesla rivals like Ford, Stellantis, and Honda have all rolled back investment and scrapped electrified models amid the EV winter.
It comes as Tesla prepares to massively expand its robotaxi service and begin production of its Cybercab robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot this year.
Musk has previously said he expects Tesla to scale up production as the company pivots into autonomous vehicles and releases improved versions of its Full Self-Driving tech.
So far, however, Tesla’s robotaxi rollout has lagged behind rival Waymo, with the automaker operating public robotaxi rides in Austin and a non-autonomous ride-hailing service in San Francisco.
