Tesla reported a 13% drop in vehicle sales in the first three months of the year, making it the electric vehicle maker’s worst quarter since 2022. It’s another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers.

The drop is likely due to a combination of factors, including its ageing lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk’s embrace of rightwing politics. It also is a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 vehicles globally in the January-March quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet expected much higher deliveries of 408,000. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives.

Tesla’s stock has plunged by roughly half since hitting a mid-December record as expectations of a lighter regulatory touch and big profits with Donald Trump as president were replaced by fear that the boycott of Musk’s cars and other problems could hit the company hard. Teslas around the country were vandalized in protest of Musk after he dismantled entire federal agencies in his role as the head of the so-called “department of government efficiency”. Musk also made a gesture at a rally that his estranged daughter called “definitely a nazi salute”.

Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to shore up company sales with a Tesla presentation in front of the White House and Musk’s assurances to employees that the company has a “bright and exciting” future, the drop in sales was striking.

Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The scale is worse than many had expected.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it, Tesla’s first-quarter delivery numbers are a disappointment, though many investors were already preparing for a soft number,” Britzman said.

Analysts are still not sure exactly how much the fall in sales is due to the protests or other factors. Electric car sales have been sluggish in general, and Tesla in particular is suffering as car buyers hold off from buying its bestselling Model Y because of plans for an updated version later this year. Even before Musk took up his role in government alongside Trump, Tesla had struggled with meeting its delivery targets. Earnings calls and delivery reports failed to match analysts’ expectations throughout 2024.

“Headlines will point to branding issues, and it’d be naive to assume that’s not a factor here, but it misses the key point,” Britzman said. “Deliveries have been significantly impacted by downtime at factories as Tesla launched the long-awaited refreshed version of the Model Y, its bestselling car.”

The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle maker has also lost market share to rivals in recent months as their offerings improve, including those of BYD. The Chinese EV giant unveiled in March a technology that allows its cars to charge in just a few minutes.

Despite what analysts describe as strong demand for the Model Y, they expect to see continue volatility for the company for a while. Tesla’s most recent release, the futuristic Cybertruck, has failed to find widespread adoption.

The “brand is under pressure”, Britzman said. “It’s rare to see sentiment toward a company so closely tied to a polarising White House, and until Musk pulls his focus back to Tesla, shares will remain volatile.”