Tesla deliveries may disappoint...again

Electric vehicle-maker Tesla is expected to report the second consecutive quarterly decline in deliveries amid tough competition in China and slower demand for EVs in the U.S.

The Elon Musk-led automaker is expected to announce its quarterly results on Tuesday and is projected to report the delivery of 438,019 vehicles from April to June, according to an average estimate based on forecasts from 12 analysts polled by LSEG. Seven of the analysts polled slashed expectations in the past three months.

Tesla's sales slowdown comes after several years of rapid growth propelled the EV-maker to becoming the world's most valuable automaker. The company warned in January that sales growth in 2024 would be "notably lower" as the impact of months-long price cuts wore off.

Consumers have increasingly turned to gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, which has led to Tesla facing a mounting inventory of vehicles that it's trying to sell through price cuts and other incentives, such as cheaper financing options and leases.

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Tesla saw deliveries decline in the first quarter of this year for the first time in nearly four years, and with another quarterly decline expected in the second quarter, some analysts are projecting that it will post its first annual sales drop this year.

Amid changing consumer preferences related to EVs and tough competition overseas, Tesla is planning to unveil its plans for robotaxis on Aug. 8 as it looks to promote its "Full Self Driving" software. The company hasn't yet revealed when production will begin or how many of them will be made.

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Tesla is also planning to introduce new models to its EV lineup, including more affordable options. Musk discussed those plans at a high level on a recent earnings call.

"In terms of the new product roadmap, there's been a lot of talk about our upcoming vehicle line in the past several weeks," Musk said on the company's earnings call in late April. "We've updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of the previously-mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025, so we expect it to be more like early 2025 if not late this year."

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"These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will use aspects of the next-generation as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup," Musk added.

"So it's not contingent on any new factory or massive new production line," he explained. "It will be made on our current production lines much more efficiently, and we think that this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent."

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Musk didn't elaborate during the call about a potential price range for the newer vehicles, so it's unclear whether it will fall at or near the previously discussed $25,000 threshold, or if it will be closer to the Model 3 — Tesla's most affordable offering, which starts at around $39,000.

Tesla's stock is down 24% from a year ago. Its stock is down about 14.5% year to date — a figure which accounts for Monday's rally. 

Reuters contributed to this report.