Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) Q1 delivery volume announcement imminent Will Musk's "participation" drag down sales and collapse?

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) will announce its first-quarter delivery situation on Wednesday Eastern Time. Analysts generally predict that Tesla, Inc.'s first-quarter deliveries will be around 377,000 vehicles, an 8.5% year-on-year decrease and over 20% decrease month-on-month. If Tesla, Inc.'s first-quarter deliveries are 355,000 vehicles or less, this will mark the worst year-on-year performance since 2017. As of the time of writing, Tesla, Inc.'s pre-market stock on Wednesday has dropped over 2%. This is a significant test for the electric car manufacturer, as CEO Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration has damaged the Tesla, Inc. brand and sparked protests calling for "Tesla, Inc. to be taken down," leading to a decline in sales in multiple markets. Multiple data points indicate Tesla, Inc.'s current sluggish sales situation. Data released on Tuesday shows that Tesla, Inc.'s sales in France and Sweden in March continued to decline year-on-year for the third consecutive month, marking the worst first-quarter sales performance in these two countries since 2021---Tesla, Inc. had 3,157 registrations in France in March, 911 in Sweden, down 36.83% and 63.9% year-on-year respectively; quarterly sales in France dropped to 6,693 vehicles, and Sweden fell to 1,929 vehicles. Earlier data shows that Tesla, Inc.'s sales in Europe in February were 16,888 vehicles, down 40% year-on-year; in the first two months of this year, Tesla, Inc.'s sales in Europe plummeted 43% year-on-year, far from the performance of the entire industry's 31% growth in electric vehicle sales. In the world's largest electric vehicle market in China, Tesla, Inc.'s wholesale sales in February were 30,688 vehicles, a 51.5% decrease from January's wholesale sales of approximately 63,238 vehicles, a 49.2% decrease from the same period last year, reaching the lowest monthly level since July 2022. In addition, according to the U.S. market research firm Kelley Blue Book, Tesla, Inc. sold only 43,650 cars in the U.S. market in February, one of the lowest sales months in nearly three years. In addition to Musk's excessive involvement in political affairs causing buyers to hesitate, increased competition in the electric car industry, demand concerns, redesign of the Tesla, Inc. Model Y, and concerns about the quality of the Cybertruck all further suppress sales of Tesla, Inc. vehicles. It is noteworthy that Wells Fargo & Company released its latest research report on Tuesday, reiterating its "underweight" rating for Tesla, Inc., and including the stock in its "Tactical (underweight) viewpoint list," indicating that the bank believes Tesla, Inc.'s stock is unlikely to rebound significantly in the short term. Analyst Colin Langan of Wells Fargo & Company stated in the report that there are many reasons to believe that Tesla, Inc.'s stock price may further decline, approaching the bank's target price of $130 per share. Wells Fargo & Company believes that Tesla, Inc. will face five major challenges in the future, including: 1) disappointing car delivery volume; 2) impending profit decline---slowing sales will further drag down Tesla, Inc.'s profit performance, as the company has lowered prices several times in the past two years and lacks new measures to drive sales growth; 3) doubts about low-priced models, this car may not be launched as quickly as the market expects; 4) worrying prospects for the Cybercab, Tesla, Inc. relies on a purely visual camera system for autonomous driving, rather than a more expensive LIDAR system, this technological path may have significant safety risks; 5) unattractive valuation, based on the current price-to-earnings ratio, Tesla, Inc.'s valuation appears too high compared to other large tech companies.