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Tesla Sales PLUMMET – Are EV Cars A Dying Breed?

Anyone thinking of getting a Tesla?

Well, good news and bad news.

Good news is they’re not selling so prices are dropping. As much as 31% in this year alone.

And Hertz is selling off thousands of them.

The bad news?

Well, keep reading for the bad news, or just skip it and watch the video clips at the bottom.

NBC News reports:

  • Hertz has plenty of electric vehicles, especially Teslas, that it’s motivated to sell since pulling back on its aggressive EV plans, at what the rental car company calls ‘no-haggle’ prices.
  • Nationwide, in most major metros, that means an average sales price of around $25,000, but they are now older models in a market where battery and mileage performance will increase each year.
  • Used EV prices plummeted by as much as 31.8% this year, according to automotive research firm iSeeCars.

The race to the $25,000 EV in the U.S. car market has been won, but not in the way the auto industry wanted.

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Since January, Hertz Global Holdings has been in Tesla sales mode, with 20,000 electric vehicles from its global fleet, representing nearly a third of the rental-car company’s existing EV inventory, on the dealer lot. The move, viewed as a stumble in Hertz’s EV strategy — in 2021, it heralded plans to order hundreds of thousands of Teslas, Polestars and battery-electric GM models — also reflects a sobering up of the electrification hype within the U.S. auto industry, which has run into a consumer in 2024 spurning at least the expected pace of the transition away from gas-powered cars.

While EV sales in the U.S. more than quadrupled from 2020 to 2023, and now account for more than 9% of total light-duty vehicle sales, the pace of growth has slowed and automakers are focusing more on selling hybrids. Yet the eventual transition to EVs remains inevitable, as sticker prices become more in line with those of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles — something the sales slump is making happen even faster as auto companies attempt to move EVs — battery technology improves driving range and the charging infrastructure expands. And there is the overarching imperative to reduce the tons of climate-changing carbon emissions that cars and trucks produce.

Considering all that, now might be a good time to buy one of Hertz’s used Teslas through its long-established Hertz Car Sales division, in business since 1977 and operating about 70 locations across the country. Although as with buying any used car — from manufacturers and independent dealers, online marketplaces or private owners — there are pros and cons.

On the plus side, Hertz has plenty of EVs that it’s motivated to sell at what it calls no-haggle prices. “Our EVs can be found nationwide in most major metros and averaging around $25,000,” said a Hertz spokesperson in an email. All of the Hertz-certified vehicles are given a 115-point inspection and include a 12-month/12,000-mile (whichever comes first) limited powertrain warranty. Hertz also offers vehicle protection plans that last beyond the warranty, as well as a seven-day or 250-mile buy-back guarantee. Hertz, like most used car retailers, offers trade-ins and financing. Also, some used EVs are eligible for up to $4,000 in federal tax credits, and several states offer tax credits or rebates.

And why wouldn’t you want a Tesla?

Riding around with a massive battery right under your feet, a literal potential bomb. You’d never feel more alive!

CBS News reported less than 2 months ago:

Tesla shares on Thursday dipped below $150 a piece, relinquishing a year’s worth of gains as the automaker struggles with decelerating electric vehicle sales and mounting competition.

Continuing a dismal year for Tesla investors, the stock on Thursday fell $5.52, or 3.5%, to close at $149.93, leaving shares down more than 39% this year. The stock last traded at the $150 level in January 2023.

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Tesla sales plummeted last quarter as competition increased and EV sales slow. The company said it delivered roughly 387,000 vehicles from January through March, undershooting analyst forecasts and nearly 9% below the 423,000 it sold in the year-ago period.

With Tesla hitting a soft patch, news surfaced this week that the company plans to cut at least 10% of its global workforce in a bid to cut costs. “There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a memo to staff. “This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.”

Tesla on April 23 is expected to report a drop in first-quarter earnings, and Wall Street will be looking for answers on the company’s conference call. Tesla is also under pressure to deliver on its previous pledge to roll out a more affordable EV, dubbed the Model 2, amid reports the project is delayed.

“We need to hear the rational for the cost-cutting, the strategy going forward, product roadmap and an overall vision from Musk, otherwise many investors might head for the elevators during this category 5 perfect storm of weak demand that Tesla is seeing globally in 2024,” Wedbush Securities analysts said in a report.

Electric vehicle sales rose only 2.7% to just over 268,000 in the first quarter, down from the 47% jump that fueled record sales in 2023, according to CBS News Detroit.

Even in Australia they can’t sell these cars.

They’re just piling up at the dealerships:

@7newsaustralia

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A sales slump has resulted in thousands of Teslas being parked at Port Melbourne with nowhere to go. Demand for the vehicles plummeted 44 per cent in April, despite significant price cuts in a bid to compete with the Chinese EV market. #tesla #EV #electriccar #7NEWS

♬ original sound – 7NEWS Australia

 

I call them the Vaccine Mobile.

Why?

Because you never know if you’re going to ‘burn suddenly’.

Here’s some classic moments, brought to you by Tesla…

Meanwhile in China…

And another…

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Here’s a non-Tesla electric vehicle trying to burn the driver alive.

This is a brutal story!

Hazmat team was called in to deal with a burning Tesla.

I guess if the jab won’t take us all out, the EVs will try to pick up the slack?

“But that’s old news, they fixed it, right?”

Okay, here’s a CBS News headline from less than 2 weeks ago:

Man dies after Tesla crashes, bursts into flames in Weston

Driver crashed into a beam. Maybe he passed out, maybe he was alert but the power went out so he could’t get out of the car?

Whatever case, the latter is waaay worse, the car turned into a flame oven with him inside it.

Had that been a normal car, well, the car would sit there until police or AAA roadside assistance showed up.

Well, at least the Tesla truck is safe, right?

Guess again.

 

But hey, Hertz is selling Teslas off at a bargain.


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