Tesla’s Q1 Registrations In California Decline 15% As Aging Lineup, Backlash Against Elon Musk Hurt EV Giant, Says Industry Body

Tesla Inc.’s (TSLA) electric car registrations in the first quarter in California declined 15% year-on-year (YoY), according to data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA).

Tesla registrations in the state stood at 9.1% in the first quarter (Q1), declining 2.5 percentage points from 11.6% during the same period a year ago.

The industry body also noted that Tesla’s market share in the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) segment fell below 50%. According to the report, the decline in Tesla registrations in the state has dragged down ZEV registrations.

Tesla’s ZEV market share fell to 43.9% in Q1, down from 55.5% in the year-ago period.

CNCDA said that six quarters of continuous declines mean that Tesla’s downward trajectory is a lasting trend.

"An aging product lineup and backlash against Musk's political initiatives are likely key factors for the decline in Tesla BEV market share,” CNCDA said.

This could also prove to be a challenge for the state to achieve its Advanced Clean Cars II mandate of reaching the 35% mark for 2026 model year vehicles, as Tesla’s decline has adversely impacted the overall EV market in the state.

Despite this, Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y emerged as the top-selling passenger cars and light trucks, respectively, during the quarter.

The Model Y was also the overall best-selling vehicle in California during Q1, and three Tesla cars were among the top 10 selling battery and hybrid electric vehicles in the state.

As for the issues ailing the EV giant, Tesla bull Dan Ives recommended that Musk formally announce that he is balancing his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responsibilities with those of being Tesla’s CEO.

He also wants Tesla to announce details about the rollout of unsupervised Full-Self Driving (FSD) technology and the launch of lower-cost vehicles.

Tesla’s stock was down 2.5% on Wednesday at the time of writing, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was down 2.1%.

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