Tesla just dodged a bullet

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With all the mess Elon Musk seems to love generating on Twitter (um, sorry, X), it’s easy to forget he also runs a car company…which hasn’t been doing so great recently.

The last part of that sentence isn’t accurate anymore: Tesla reported its first sales increase this year. Worldwide, sales of cars and trucks climbed 6.4% in Q3. Tesla delivered 463,000 vehicles between July and September, 6% more than the 435,000 it delivered in Q3 2023.

It was the good news the company needed: In the first and second quarters of 2024, Tesla reported sales dips of 9% and 5%, respectively, marking the first time ever that the company posted two back-to-back quarters of declining sales, CNN reported.

EV sales have been growing at a slower pace than in recent years, particularly as customers consider a wider array of hybrid options. Tesla has also been facing competition from EV makers in China, like BYD, which surpassed Tesla in global EV sales last year.

More recently, Tesla has been offering financing below market interest rates, boosting sales in the process, per the New York Times. Now, with the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut, the company can more readily offer cheaper financing options.

Consider all this a mid-season dispatch: Tesla will report full earnings for the quarter on October 23. We’ll spare you more Musk-adjacent chatter until then.