Tesla shipped nearly 4,900 vehicles a day in 2024

Tesla’s decline in annual deliveries in 2024 compared to 2023 has been widely cited as evidence of the so-called ‘EV winter’ but may have also obscured other, more promising data.

Finbold research found that Tesla not only delivered 4,889 vehicles every single day in 2024 but that the quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) numbers have been improving as the year progressed.

During the first quarter (Q1), Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) maker shipped 386,810 units; in Q2, it delivered 443,956 – 14.77% more. The improvements persisted throughout the year, and Tesla shipped 4,251 vehicles daily in the first 91 days of 2024 and 5,387 in the last 92.

The rise across the latter three quarters of 2024 indicates a rising trend that could, should it persist, lead to Tesla recording more than 600,000 deliveries in some of the later trimesters of 2025.

Still, it is also worth noting that the increase came at a cost.

Specifically, Elon Musk’s EV maker engaged in price reductions across the global markets last year to increase sales. Though the company seemingly successfully achieved the goal, Tesla’s Q4 revenue came in $1.5 billion below expectations, showcasing the impact of the cuts.

The other likely culprit behind the deliveries increase, the lessened fears of a recession in the second half of 2024, may soon exit the stage.

On the one hand, the re-emerging inflation in the U.S. halted the loosening of financial conditions and, on the other, President Donald Trump’s tariffs could have a substantial psychological and actual impact on numerous industries and sectors.

Early data from the E.U. for January 2025 also indicates that the positive momentum might be weakening as deliveries in several countries on the continent are approximately 46% lower than one year before.

The combination of bullish and bearish factors – and Tesla’s historical performance – leaves many questions about the company’s business and stock’s future open. As Andreja Stojanovic, a co-author of the research, pointed out:

“It could, ultimately, depend on a combination of factors, including the real-world impact of the Trump administration’s policies and the EV maker’s ability to fulfill its promises of turning into an artificial intelligence (AI) and big tech powerhouse through products such as the ‘robotaxi’ and the ‘Optimus’ humanoid robots.”

The fact that the outcome is not always evident upon an examination of its cause is also apparent in the puzzlement expressed by JPMorgan’s Ryan Brinkman, who complained after Tesla’s latest earnings and the subsequent stock market rally that investors’ reaction ‘bore no relation whatsoever to the company’s financial performance.’