Tesla has hit a bump in the road – but there’s no need to hit the brakes on electric cars

What does a plunge in demand for Elon Musk’s battery-powered marque mean for the rest of the industry, asks Sean O’Grady – that another game-changing tech innovation is just around the corner

Despite an unexpected gloomy quarterly financial report from Tesla, sales of electric vehicles are still rising (Getty/Shutterstock)

I’m not quite sure what to make of the supposed wave of “bad news” for the electric car, except to say that it does feel very much like a case study in the shortsightedness of much of the press.

Tesla’s sales and latest quarterly financial results were disappointing – deliveries nosedived, and sales saw their first decrease since 2020 – and the fact it is the biggest and most celebrated all-electric car make in the world makes the story naturally compelling. Plus, of course, the magnetic personality of Elon Musk, a man who seems to have too many challenges at the moment, even for his formidable, if flawed, talents.

Less well-known, but equally important were the results from BYD, a private-sector Chinese concern. They too were down, by even more than Tesla, a product of weaker demand in the home market. As a result, Build Your Dreams, to give the brand its full title, is now “only” the second largest battery electric car company in the world.