NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:04 ET — Market closed
Tesla shares will be in focus when U.S. trading resumes on Monday after the electric-vehicle maker reported a sharper-than-expected fourth-quarter drop in deliveries and lost its annual EV sales lead to China’s BYD. The stock fell 2.6% on Friday to $438.07.
The delivery figure is one of the first hard reads on EV demand after the $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit expired at the end of September, raising effective purchase prices for many buyers. That matters for Tesla because investors still treat volume growth as the core barometer for the business.
The report also sets the tone ahead of Tesla’s Jan. 28 earnings release, where investors will look for clarity on pricing, margins and whether new initiatives can offset softness in the core car business. Tesla has increasingly highlighted robotics and self-driving technology alongside its automotive operations.
Tesla said it delivered 418,227 vehicles in the October-December quarter, down 15.6% from a year earlier. Analysts expected 434,487, according to Visible Alpha.
For 2025, Tesla delivered 1.64 million vehicles, down from 1.79 million in 2024, as global EV sales rose 28% and competition intensified, Reuters reported. Tesla also said it deployed a record 14.2 gigawatt-hours of energy storage products in the quarter — a measure of how much electricity its battery systems can store.
Tesla has tried to defend volumes by launching “Standard” versions of the Model Y and Model 3 priced about $5,000 below the previous base models, Reuters reported. The move left some investors wanting either a bigger price cut or a new mass-market vehicle. Reuters
In Europe, new data on registrations — a proxy for sales because they track new vehicles put on the road — showed Tesla losing ground in key markets in December even as it hit records in Norway. Registrations fell 66% in France and 71% in Sweden, while rising 89% in Norway, Reuters reported.
“Investors are so focused on the future with Tesla that they are ignoring delivery numbers. It’s about Optimus, Robotaxi and physical AI,” said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading, which owns Tesla shares. Reuters
A weaker demand picture was not limited to Tesla. Rivian reported 2025 deliveries of 42,247 vehicles, down about 18% from a year earlier and slightly below expectations, and said it would report results on Feb. 12 after markets close; its shares slipped 1.5% on Friday.
But the risk for Tesla into earnings is that softer demand collides with higher sticker prices and forces more discounting, which can compress margins. EVs accounted for 6.2% of U.S. retail vehicle sales in the quarter, down 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier, while average transaction prices rose nearly $6,000 to $53,300, according to J.D. Power data cited by Reuters.
The next catalysts are Tesla’s Jan. 28 results and any commentary on 2026 volumes and profitability, with traders also watching macro releases that can swing rate expectations for growth stocks — including the U.S. jobs report due Jan. 9 and the consumer price index on Jan. 13.
