Tesla Stock Is Sliding Wednesday: Here's Why

Tesla Inc TSLA shares are trading lower Wednesday following reports suggesting declining sales in China and European markets.

What To Know: Tesla has seen sales declines on its China-made vehicles for seven straight months. That trend reportedly continued into May after the company’s deliveries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles made in China dropped 15% year-over-year to 61,662, according to Reuters.

Despite the year-over-year declines, the report indicates that China-made vehicle deliveries were up 5.5% from April. Investors still appear to be concerned as competition ramps up in the region. BYD sales reportedly rose 14.1% year-over-year in May, and other China-based EV companies also saw gains in China.

Reuters also reported that Tesla continues to see demand weakness across Europe related to Musk’s political activity. Tesla’s sales across Britain, Germany and Italy fell for the fifth straight month in May.

A spokesperson for Tesla in Britain reportedly attributed the declines to the transition from the company’s older Model Y vehicles to the updated version being made in Berlin. The spokesperson said the company expects to see an increase in sales in the region next month.

Check This Out: Tesla’s China Sales Slump While BYD And Li Auto Post Strong Gains: Report

Tesla is also facing ongoing Full Self-Driving scrutiny as the company prepares for its planned robotaxi launch later this month. Bloomberg reported that Tesla is currently under investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is looking into whether Tesla's supervised driving system is potentially defective. Meanwhile, Tesla has begun testing its driverless vehicles on public roads in Austin in preparation for the robotaxi rollout.

Musk posted on X last week that Tesla has been testing self-driving vehicles and is about “a month ahead of schedule.”

TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares were down 3.24% at $333.03 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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Photo: courtesy of Tesla.