Elon Musk has repeatedly denied that the fact that he went “all-in on Donald Trump,” the controversial former president, is negatively affecting his businesses. Now, he went as far as claiming that Tesla’s sales are at ‘all-time highs.’
During an X Space yesterday, the Tesla CEO was asked what he thinks of the claims that his support of Trump is affecting Tesla negatively.
Musk responded:
Tesla’s sales are actually doing great. We’re hitting all-time highs. I think people really care about the quality of the product as opposed to whether they agree or disagree with the CEO’s views. The CEO of any given company is going to have political views. At the end of the day what matters is if Tesla makes a great product, and people like buying great products.
There are a few interesting things here.
First off, “sales are hitting all-time highs.” There are many ways to interpret this, but only one can make Musk right: Tesla had its best Q3 for vehicle deliveries last quarter:
With 463,000 vehicle deliveries last quarter, Tesla technically beat its last Q3 record, but the reason has more to do with Q3 2023 than 2024.
Tesla claimed that “a sequential decline in volumes was caused by planned downtimes for factory upgrades.” Without that, Tesla would have likely been flat on deliveries in Q3 2024 versus last year.
This delayed some shipments into Q4 2023 – resulting in Tesla’s all-time delivery high.
But Musk can’t deny that Tesla’s performance in 2024 has been less than stellar.
Tesla’s total deliveries in 2024 (1,293,656) are still down more than 30,000 units compared to the first three quarters in 2023 (1,324,074).
That’s despite Tesla adding the Cybertruck to the lineup, which started to contribute meaningfully last quarter. It’s hard to swallow for a company that is all about growth. The chart above shows that the growth between 2020 and 2023 was awe-inspiring, but it stopped in 2024.
Tesla’s stock performance is also closely tracking its growth in deliveries and then the stagnation:
In 2023, Tesla started cutting prices, which negatively affected its gross margins and profits, and it countered the growth in deliveries in terms of stock performance.
As for the impact of Musk’s very active and public support of Trump on Tesla’s sales, that’s indeed more nuanced.
There have been many polls about the issue showing that car buyers are less interested in buying Tesla vehicles due to Elon Musk, but it’s hard to tell how the polls translate into the reality of car purchases, which are important decisions for most households.
However, there have been direct examples of Tesla losing out on sales because of Musk’s support of Trump. For example, Rossmann, one of the largest pharmacy chains in Europe and a long-time Tesla client, said that it would stop converting its fleet to Tesla vehicles because of Musk’s support of Trump and the former president’s anti-environmentalist policies.
Electrek’s Take
It’s not really encouraging that Elon is oblivious to Tesla’s current situation. I feel like it’s a bit misleading to say that Tesla’s sales are “hitting all-time highs” when Tesla is on track to have its first down year in deliveries in its existence despite adding a vehicle to its lineup for the first time since 2020.
It’s almost like he is just repeating what his biggest fans on X tweet him all the time. He lives in a different reality because of the echo chamber he built for himself and his fans on X.
I know Tesla fans love to say that it’s about macroeconomics and interest rates, which undoubtedly have an impact, but Tesla also greatly reduced its prices over the last year and offered subsidized interest rates.
At this point, it’s a bit ridiculous to act as if Tesla doesn’t have a broader issue. As for the impact of Elon’s support, it’s admittedly impossible to quantify, but I feel like it’s safe to say that it has, at the very least, some impact.
Finally, it’s also unfair for Elon to say that “every CEO has political views” as if he is sharing his like everyone else. Not every CEO calls the other party, “the party of hate”, and gives millions of dollars to elect a candidate with a long track record that goes against Tesla’s mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy.
CEOs also don’t all go on the campaign trail and get photographed jumping up and down like high school cheerleaders behind Trump.
Whatever happens next month, I doubt Elon’s decision will age well. Even if Trump wins, I would be shocked if he doesn’t turn on Elon within a year.
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If you haven’t noticed, Genesis is quickly making a name for itself in the US. The luxury automaker now has 60 sales outlets as it expands into new US states. With new EVs launching, Genesis is eyeing a bigger share of the US luxury market.
Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis brand is quietly emerging as a powerhouse in the US luxury market. Genesis marked its entry into the luxury segment in 2008 as a Hyundai-branded model.
In 2015, Hyundai announced Genesis would become an independent luxury brand. Since launching its first vehicle in the US, the luxury brand’s sales have surged from 7,000 in 2016 to over 69,000 last year. It even outsold Nissan’s Infiniti.
According to Genesis, this is just the start. The Korean luxury brand wants an even bigger slice of the market as it eyes rivals like Porsche.
A big reason behind the brand’s confidence is its new lineup of stylishly electric models. Genesis sells three EVs in the US: The GV60, Electrified G80, and Electrified GV70.
After introducing the Electrified GV70 just last year, the electric SUV is already Genesis’ top-selling EV in the US. According to Kelley Blue Book, Genesis sold 2,343 electric GV70 models in the US through September.
Genesis eyes a bigger share of the US luxury market
Altogether, the luxury brand’s EV sales reached over 4,600 through the first nine months of 2024, topping Porsche (4,291) and Volvo (3,644).
Genesis made a statement at the LA Auto Show, unveiling the updated 2026 Electrified GV70. The luxury electric SUV now includes more range and an NACS port so drivers can charge at Tesla Superchargers. It will go on sale in the first half of 2025.
Meanwhile, Genesis showcased its new GV60 Magma Concept at the event, its first dedicated high-performance EV. The brand sees its Magma performance brand rivaling that of Geman luxury brands like Mercedes AMG, BMW M, and Audi RS.
The Genesis GV60 Magma EV will launch next year, spearheading the brand’s “expansion into the realm of high-performance vehicles.”
Genesis enhanced the battery and motor while fine-tuning the chassis, thermodynamics, and profile for more power and efficiency.
It also features an aggressive new design, sitting much lower and wider than the current GV60 model. Genesis added a Magma-exclusive sound system to give it a sports car-like feel in the cockpit.
In April, we got our first look at the G80 EV Magma concept, which could be a potential challenger to Tesla’s Model S Plaid and the Porsche Taycan GT Turbo.
The luxury brand is expected to launch its flagship electric three-row SUV next year, the GV90. Genesis previewed the ultra-luxury EV in March after unveiling the Neolun concept.
Genesis now has 60 sales bases in the US, with new stores in Washington, Minnesota, New York, and Florida. It’s also building 30 in Canada as it expands its presence in the North American luxury market.
The luxury brand is opening a new dedicated design center in California. The “Genesis Design California” will open in the first half of 2025 as it builds out its US network.
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A rumor spreading like wildfire on social media claims BYD will be taking over NIO (NYSE: NIO) as the EV giant gobbles up market share in China. The rumor was posted by a suspected BYD employee, but NIO is denying the claim.
BYD acquiring NIO would be a massive move as China’s leading EV maker continues to dominate the market. But that’s not going to happen.
According to CnEVPost, NIO’s assistant vice president for branding and communications, Ma Lin, denied the rumors that BYD is taking over the company on Friday.
Ma posted a screenshot on social media asking BYD’s general manager of branding and PR, Li Yunfei if the person who posted the fake rumor was an employee.
Earlier today, the suspected employee claimed BYD and NIO were setting up a joint venture. In a Weibo post, the suspect said BYD would have majority control of the partnership with a 51% share while NIO would get the remaining 49% ownership.
Ma told Li that if it was, in fact, a BYD employee, he needed to issue an official clarification and apologize. If not, they can get the police involved together. Li also denied the rumors, saying the claim was seriously untrue.
NIO denies rumors that BYD is taking over the company
This is not the first time rumors surfaced that BYD will be taking over NIO, but because it is a suspected employee, the post has garnered more attention.
BYD is on a major hiring spree as it ramps up production to meet the higher demand. The EV giant now has over 900,000 employees, making it by far the largest A-share listed company in China.
After selling over 500,000 vehicles for the first time in a single month in October, BYD’s surge is heating up as the EV giant expands overseas for growth.
October was BYD’s fifth consecutive record sales month as it closes in on auto leaders like Ford in global deliveries.
NIO is also gaining momentum, with sales topping the 20,000 mark for the sixth straight month in October. With output of its new lower-priced Onvo L60 electric SUV ramping up, NIO expects to continue seeing higher demand.
Ma said on Friday that NIO’s “recent situation is quite good.” The company’s head of PR added, “Cash flow turned positive in the third quarter, gross profit improved in October, earning an extra RMB 100 million, and Onvo (deliveries) will exceed 10,000 in December.”
NIO is launching its third brand, Firefly, with deliveries kicking off in the first half of 2025. The company expects sales to double next year as it works to become profitable by 2026.
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Hyundai Motors is recalling 145,235 EVs and other “electrified” vehicles in the US, citing concerns about a loss of driving power, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.
The NHTSA announced this morning that the recall affects selected IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 EVs, as well as certain luxury Genesis models, including the GV60, GV70, and G80 electrified variants, from the 2022-2025 model years, Reuters reported.
It looks like the issue stems from “the integrated charging control units in these vehicles, which may become damaged and fail to charge the 12-volt battery. This malfunction could lead to a complete loss of drive power, posing safety risks for drivers,” the NHTSA stated.
If you’re an owner of one of these Hyundai models dating 2022-2025, stay tuned. Hyundai has not yet provided a timeline as to when affected vehicles will be repaired.
To make that happen, the company’s dealers will inspect and replace the charging unit and its fuse if necessary, NHTSA said. Free of charge, of course.
Importantly, no crashes, injuries, fatalities, or fires due to this issue have been reported in the US, Hyundai reported.
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