Tesla's vehicle production skidded about 1.7 per cent from a year earlier and 12.5 per cent sequentially—not as catastrophic as the 8.5 per cent annual drop in deliveries, but still enough to cause a stir.

The company's tight-lipped on sales by model, but here's the scoop: it churned out 412,376 Model 3/Y cars and handed over the keys to 369,783. As for the other models, 20,995 rolled off the production line, with 17,027 delivered.

If we rewind to last year, the numbers were a bit rosier, with 422,875 deliveries and 440,808 vehicles produced. And let's not forget the fourth quarter of 2023 – a bumper period with 484,507 deliveries and 494,989 vehicles produced.

Deliveries are Tesla's way of saying 'sales', but don't expect them to spell that out in their shareholder chinwags.

Analysts were betting on around 457,000 deliveries by March 31. The actual figure? A paltry 386,810. Talk about missing the mark. Troy Teslike, the auto industry analyst, pegged deliveries at about 409,000. Even he was off the pace.

It's been a bumpy ride for Tesla, with Houthi militia attacks and eco-warriors torching infrastructure near their Berlin factory, throwing a wrench in the works.

In China, local EV makers like BYD and Xiaomi are giving Tesla a run for its money. After a sluggish start to the year, Tesla slowed down its Shanghai production and trimmed the workweek.

Stateside, the Cybertruck's debut was met with a collective 'meh', and Musk's Full Self-Driving demo demands did little to rev up sales.

One issue appears to be that CEO Elon [look at me] Musk's larger-than-life persona is scaring off potential buyers, with Tesla's customer base in the US shrinking faster than a budget in a shopping spree.

As for the stock market, Tesla's shares plummeted 29 per cent in the first quarter, marking the biggest slump since the end of 2022. On Tuesday, the shares closed down about five per cent at €150.67.