Tesla shares sank about 7.5% on July 2, their worst single-day decline in nearly a year. The drop came even after the company reported second-quarter deliveries far above Wall Street’s expectations.
The selloff came just three trading days after Tesla stock jumped more than 8% on optimism around a new self-driving software rollout.
Deliveries Crushed Estimates, But the Rally Came Early
Tesla reported 480,126 vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, against a company-compiled consensus of 406,024 and a StreetAccount estimate of 406,600. Production came in at 451,758 units.
The result marked a 25% jump from the same period last year. It also represented a 34% increase over the first quarter’s 358,023 deliveries. Tesla also shipped more cars than it built, drawing down inventory that had ballooned earlier in the year.
Much of the setup traces back to June 29. Tesla shares posted their biggest single-day gain in over a year after the FSD v14 Lite update rolled out. The update reached older Hardware 3 vehicles for the first time in more than a year. That rally already reflected rising expectations for the delivery report itself.
Why a Beat Still Sank the Stock
CNBC’s Phil LeBeau called the numbers a clear beat on air Thursday morning.
“The consensus estimate going into today was 406.6 thousand vehicles. They beat it by 74,000 vehicles. So just a massive beat from Tesla for the second quarter.”
Attribution: CNBC
Yet the stock fell anyway. Fund manager Gary Black noted that Tesla and Rivian shares had both climbed heading into their delivery reports. That timing undercuts the idea that new autonomy enthusiasm drove the earlier run-up.
Higher European gasoline prices from the Iran conflict likely pulled some demand forward. Tesla’s cheaper Model 3 and Model Y variants added to that effect. China-made EV sales rose 24.4% year over year in June, while Norway registrations fell 43%.
Valuation Still Hinges on Autonomy, Not Cars
Tesla’s roughly $1.6 trillion valuation now rests largely on its robotaxi and Full Self-Driving story rather than car sales. That mirrors the doubts investors raised during Tesla’s volatile 2010 IPO period.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe remains open into a fatal June 19 crash involving Tesla’s driver-assistance software. That probe keeps safety scrutiny on the same technology stack Tesla is now rolling out on robotaxis.
Tesla reports full second-quarter financial results on July 22. That release will show whether the delivery beat came with pricing discipline or with margin-eating incentives.
Bitrue