Tesla Deliveries Fell in 2024, Automaker Now Focused on Autonomy

Tesla deliveries fell for the first time in 2024, the company has confirmed.

Figures released by the firm showed it delivered 495,570 vehicles in Q4, slightly up on the comparable period in 2023 (484,507) and a new quarterly record for Tesla.

However, this was down on analysts’ expectations, which had been at around the 504,000 mark, and meant that annual deliveries were 1,789,226.

The annual total was around 1% down on the 1,808,581 Teslas delivered in 2023 and a significant change from the huge 38% increase recorded between 2023 and 2022. The drop came despite a constant barrage of discounts and promotions, including price cuts and an array of incentives to encourage adoption of its Full Self Driving assistance tech.

Because Tesla does not publish official sales figures, deliveries are generally the closest metric available to ascertain how the company is performing. As you would expect, the Model 3 and the Model Y were the star cars in the company’s line-up, amassing 1,704,093 of the total deliveries.

Trying to make sense of Tesla’s figures is never an exact science, particularly in a landscape where its stock is much more highly valued than that of rival automakers, often bafflingly so.

However, as analysts and experts pick over the bones of the 2024 numbers, a few key themes have emerged.

Related:Tesla Slashes Full Self Driving Subscription Price

Among the most popular theories is that Tesla has become too focused on its attempts to deliver autonomous driving, as was underlined by CEO Elon Musk himself on X in April last year when he posted: “[G]oing balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move. Everything else is like variations on a horse carriage.”

By October, Tesla had shown its hand regarding its plans in the self-driving taxi arena, unveiling the Cybercab, which will supposedly retail for under $30,000 and be ready for production as early as 2026. Indeed Musk has subsequently claimed that the firm is already testing and preparing for a self-driving taxi service in San Francisco. 

However, critics believe that in the short term, rather than focus on its autonomous vehicle (AV) strategy, Tesla would be better served producing the cheaper EVs currently demanded by consumers. A sub-$25,000 Model 2 widely was thought to be on the way, but it’s all gone quiet on that front since Tesla upped the momentum on the Cybercab project.

There is also widespread bemusement that Tesla has devoted so much time and energy developing the expensive Cybertruck, which has not proven to be the sales success hoped for.

Other concerns include the belief that Musk has not concentrated sufficiently on Tesla, having become too distracted by cultivating his relationship with incoming President Donald Trump, although that may yet pay dividends in law changes that could make it easier for AVs to operate on public roads in America – which would be hugely beneficial for the automaker.

Related:Tesla Unveils Sub-$30k Self-Driving Taxi Set for 2026 Launch

There is also growing discomfort in many countries about Musk’s increasingly politicized outbursts on social media, with an article in the U.K.’s Guardian in September – “The 10 best electric cars to buy if you want to avoid Tesla” – summing up the prevalent mood among left-leaning buyers.

Add in the growing influence of a number of Chinese EV brands, led by BYD, improving product offerings from legacy automakers and lower- than-predicted demand for electric cars globally, and it’s clear Tesla is facing a greater battle than ever before for sales.

As always, though, Musk remains bullish, having promised “20% to 30% growth” for Tesla in 2025 on an earnings call in October.