{"id":27613,"date":"2023-01-04T16:17:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T16:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/04\/tesla-models-still-top-u-s-market-despite-musks-twitter-turmoil\/"},"modified":"2023-01-04T16:17:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T16:17:08","slug":"tesla-models-still-top-u-s-market-despite-musks-twitter-turmoil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/04\/tesla-models-still-top-u-s-market-despite-musks-twitter-turmoil\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Models Still Top U.S. Market Despite Musk’s Twitter Turmoil"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While founder and CEO Elon Musk\u2019s unpredictable management of Twitter has forced Tesla stock into a precipitous decline, the car maker\u2019s models continued to remain popular for most of 2022, according to Cox Automotive\u2019s Kelley Blue Book<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the first nine months of 2022, it reported four of the top six best-selling electric cars were Teslas. At the top of the ranking were the Tesla Model Y, with 191,451 units sold, and the Model 3, with 156,357 units. Finishing a distant third was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with 28,089 units.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all the negative headlines surrounding Tesla and its increasingly controversial CEO Elon Musk in recent weeks, it\u2019s easy to forget that the company\u2019s cars are still very popular,\u201d Data Journalist Felix Richter wrote Tuesday on Statista<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it\u2019s too early to say whether Musk\u2019s Twitter takeover and the turbulences that came with it will have a significant negative impact on demand for Tesla\u2019s cars,\u201d he continued, \u201cits current position as the maker of the most popular electric cars in the United States and in many parts of the world is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Power of First Mover<\/h3>\n

In the EV space, Tesla has been wildly popular, and it remains so, observed Brent Gruber, executive director for Global Automotive at J.D. Power<\/a>, a consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Mich.<\/p>\n

Citing December survey data from JDP, Gruber noted that among shoppers looking to buy a vehicle in the next 12 months, four out of 10 who are \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d likely to purchase an EV were considering the Tesla brand. \u201cThis is second only to Chevrolet,\u201d Gruber told TechNewsWorld.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever,\u201d he continued, \u201cthe percentage of those likely EV shoppers who are considering Tesla has declined by five-percentage-points from November.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tesla is still benefiting from being a first mover in the EV market, contended Chris Jones, chief analyst with Canalys<\/a>, a global market research company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was very little competition, and there still isn\u2019t very much competition,\u201d Jones told TechNewsWorld.<\/p>\n

\u201cTesla also had status appeal that at the time the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, the BMW i3 just didn\u2019t have,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Another attractive feature for early customers, he continued, was over-the-air updates of the Tesla\u2019s software. \u201cOnly now can some of its competitors do that,\u201d he said. \u201cSo Tesla was a decade ahead in software updates and ability to improve the vehicle as it got older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charging Advantage<\/h3>\n

Being a \u201cpure play\u201d electric car company operating at scale is another advantage Tesla has in the market \u2014 in addition to being the only EV maker with a charging network, added Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group<\/a>, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other car companies are ramping up their electric vehicles but have experienced supply problems as they ramped to volumes thanks to the pandemic, war, and other supply issues,\u201d Enderle told TechNewsWorld.<\/p>\n

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Chart Credit: Statista<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Tesla\u2019s charging network is an important element of its offering, maintained Mike Ramsey, vice president and analyst for automotive and smart mobility at Gartner<\/a>. \u201cTheir charging network is a basic differentiator between them and other brands selling electric vehicles,\u201d he told TechNewsWorld.<\/p>\n

Gruber noted that vehicle charging is one of Tesla\u2019s notable advantages over its competitors. In JDP\u2019s 2022 charging studies, Tesla received awards for highest satisfaction with Level 2 permanently mounted home chargers, public Level 2 charging, and DC fast charging.<\/p>\n

In the public charging study, Gruber observed that the wide availability of the Tesla charging network, ease of use \u2014 particularly with the payment\/account process \u2014 and network reliability helped the network perform well.<\/p>\n

He added that one of the standout metrics for Tesla in the home charging study was also ease of use.<\/p>\n

Bumpy Road Ahead<\/h3>\n

While 2022 appears to have been a good year for Tesla sales, storm clouds may be on the horizon. \u201cMusk\u2019s Twitter escapades, coupled with his move to the political right, have alienated the typical left-leaning Tesla buyer, hurting sales and forcing discounting and other practices to move vehicles,\u201d Enderle maintained.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur local Tesla dealer appears to be up to its neck in overstock due to slowing sales, suggesting Tesla\u2019s numbers may be transitioning down or overstated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Tesla sells through their stores, there is no third-party validation of their sales numbers, and they have likely been overstating for some time to prop up rapidly declining valuations,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs FTX showcased,\u201d he continued, \u201coversight on corporations is almost non-existent, bringing to question much of what is reported by every public company, particularly those under high stress like Tesla and Twitter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Competition is also heating up. \u201cShoppers have an increasing selection of EVs to choose from,\u201d Gruber said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of products coming from OEMs is rising at a rapid rate,\u201d he continued. \u201cThose products now fill voids in popular segments and from brands with high loyalty rates, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Toyota bZ4X.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompetition is increasing, and we\u2019re seeing that in our data,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Musk Cycles<\/h3>\n

Ramsey agreed that competition will be a future challenge for Tesla. \u201cThey\u2019ve shown the way for startups like Rivian and Lucid,\u201d he said. \u201cThose guys are going to get stronger and stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, traditional car companies are adding more and more electric vehicles to their lineups that are going to be much more affordable than what Tesla has,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew competitors like Lucid and Rivian are causing Tesla pain,\u201d added Enderle. Anecdotally, he noted that two of his neighbors have Rivians now, and one that owns a Tesla is considering a Rivian.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition,\u201d he continued, \u201cbetter electric vehicle solutions from various car makers will put more pressure on the company, but the firm\u2019s biggest problem is Musk, and fixing him has proven problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has forced Tesla to provide incentives to sell cars, resulting in a catastrophic decline in Tesla\u2019s valuation and Musk\u2019s net worth,\u201d he contended. \u201cIt has also increased the number of potential Tesla buyers considering alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramsey pointed out, however, that Tesla\u2019s CEO has been a mix for the company for a long time. \u201cSince the dawn of the company, Elon Musk has been vital to Tesla\u2019s success and has been a source of some of its problems,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has gone through periods where he has been more of a detriment than a benefit, but it goes in cycles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n