Tesla’s grip on its throne continues to weaken.
The automaker’s share of the U.S. EV market dipped below 50 percent last quarter, according to The New York Times. The dip comes at a time when sales of battery-powered car sales continue to rise nationwide.
A new report released Tuesday by Cox Automotive showed that Tesla EVs accounted for 49.7 percent of those sold in the U.S. between the beginning of April and the end of June. That number represents a nearly 10-point drop from the same period in 2023, during which the company was responsible for 59.3 percent of EV sales. The numbers show that while Tesla may still dominate the electric market, rivals like General Motors, Ford Motor, Hyundai, and Kia are finally starting to catch up. Cox’s figures were reached by taking into account registrations, company reports, and other data.
This represents the first time that Tesla’s market share has fallen below 50 percent since it created the EV market by releasing the Model S (pictured above) in 2012. At the start of the decade, the company owned 76 percent of the U.S. EV market, but this number has shrunk annually this decade to 56.2 percent last year.
The decrease can be attributed to a noticeable dip in the company’s sales last quarter. Although the company performed slightly better than expectations, sales still fell by 6.3 over the period (the second such drop this year), according to Quartz. This happened at the same time that overall EV sales rose by 11.3 percent nationwide. Demand may not be increasing at the same rate as it was earlier this decade when it wasn’t unusual to see a 40-percent year-over-year jump, but the numbers suggest that there is consumer demand for battery power vehicles. In total, 330,000 electric cars, SUVs, and trucks were sold last quarter, which accounts for eight percent of all automobiles sold or leased during the period. EVs accounted for 7.2 percent of all vehicle sales in 2023.
News of Tesla’s falling market share doesn’t seem to have bothered Wall Street much if at all. The company stock rose by more than 1 percent in early trading on Wednesday, the day after the release of the Cox report. Overall, the company’s share price is up by six percent since the start of January.
