Cars and Drivers

Can Tesla Come Back?

Tesla dealer
Brandon Bell / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Through February 5, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was the worst-performing S&P 500 stock for the year to date. Its position has improved slightly since then. The share price remains down 25% for the year, which compares to an S&P 500 increase of just under 4% in that time. What would it take to turn Tesla stock around? Certainly, it would take better financial results and a bigger market share in America and China, which is the world’s largest car market.

Tesla’s revenue rose only 3% in its most recently reported quarter to $25.2 billion. Adjusted EBITDA, which is how Tesla describes its “profits,” fell 40% year over year to $4 billion. Elon Musk has warned that the company’s sales growth in 2024 may be slow. (Here are five reasons to avoid Tesla’s Cybertruck no matter what.)

By some measures, Tesla ranks fifth in market share in China behind four local companies. The market share leader is BYD, which passed Tesla in global electric vehicle (EV) market share last year. BYD sells cars in China for as little as $10,000. Tesla models cost at least twice that much. The company may not pick up market share in China because of this price difference, but it needs to hold its position in the market share race.

Tesla has dominated the U.S. EV market with a market share of 50%. Once again, it has to hold that position. Several major manufacturers produce and sell EVs, but none has a share in double digits. Tesla has cut prices in the United States several times. Its management believes this will drive losses at the large legacy car companies, slowing their investment in the EV sector.

Tesla announces global unit production once a quarter. Those numbers will need to be strong for the first quarter of 2024 if Tesla stock is to reverse its fall.

 

Travel Cards Are Getting Too Good To Ignore (sponsored)

Credit card companies are pulling out all the stops, with the issuers are offering insane travel rewards and perks.

We’re talking huge sign-up bonuses, points on every purchase, and benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and free hotel nights. For travelers, these rewards can add up to thousands of dollars in flights, upgrades, and luxury experiences every year.

It’s like getting paid to travel — and it’s available to qualified borrowers who know where to look.

We’ve rounded up some of the best travel credit cards on the market. Click here to see the list. Don’t miss these offers — they won’t be this good forever.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.