Episode summary
Tesla’s EV Sales Miss Expectations Again in Deepening Slump | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: David Welch, Brody Ford, Robert Schiffman
Summary
Tesla’s first-quarter delivery miss reinforced the view that its core auto business is weakening even as sales were already pressured by last year’s backlash against Elon Musk and broader EV demand softness. The guest said Tesla’s global sales have been sliding for a while, with incentives fading in China and the Trump administration’s removal of EV subsidies in the U.S. making the market tougher. He also said Tesla’s shift away from the Model S and Model X toward robotics and autonomous driving leaves investors facing a long and uncertain transition.
The discussion then turned to Stellantis and its talks with Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. about building EVs in Canada, which the guest framed as a response to trade tension and Canada’s need for non-U.S. auto investment. He said the arrangement could help Canada preserve industrial capacity and could eventually position Chinese-made vehicles for the Western Hemisphere.
Brody Ford’s reporting on Microsoft focused on Amy Hood’s role in AI capital allocation. He argued she grew skeptical of demand, paused data center projects, and helped trigger market concern, only for Microsoft later to find itself short on capacity. Robert Schiffman said Intel shows a different model: heavy spending backed by equity support, asset sales, and a stronger balance sheet, which he sees as credit positive.
Key takeaways
- The guest said Tesla’s sales are sliding globally and that the company faces a difficult pivot away from cars toward robotics and autonomous driving.
- The guest said fading EV incentives in China and the U.S. are hurting demand across the industry, not just at Tesla.
- Brody Ford said Amy Hood’s pause in Microsoft data center spending reflected skepticism about demand, but Microsoft now appears short of AI capacity.
- Brody Ford said Microsoft’s AI buildout is forcing the company to behave more like an industrial firm, with heavier assets and lower margins.
- Robert Schiffman said Intel’s turnaround is being supported by equity backing, asset sales, and deleveraging, making the credit story look stronger.
Notable quotes
“it was a disappointing quarter no matter how you look at it”
“Tesla's overall sales globally have just been sliding here for uh for quite a while”
“I don't believe this demand. I question this demand and you know it's time to hit pause on a lot of these data center projects”
“they now have the financial firepower to go into this build uh, on their own”
“it's one of the few names that both the equity and the bond markets really love”
How the episode opens
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Getting back to Earth here. Uh, but we're still talking Elon Musk. Tesla um had some numbers come out that were in terms of deliveries um a little bit disappointing, but I guess I'm like a lot of people like who
Are they really car company or is there something else?
That's exactly right. So, let's go to a car person. That would be David Welch.
He's a Detroit burrow chief for Bloomberg News. He's based in Detroit. Hey, David, talk to us about Tesla's delivery numbers here.
What did you see and and what's the company saying? Look, it's it was a disappointing quarter no matter how you look at it. Uh even though it was up over last year, but there's some comp there's some complexities there.
So they were they greatly disappointed what uh analysts and investors expected them to sell. Uh it was up over last year. So how does that happen?
U last year at this time there was a backlash against Elon Musk over Doge and everything he was doing with the Trump administration. So sales had really pulled back from that. If you look at this first quarter versus previous years, not 2025, but 2024, 2023, it's down significantly from there.
So Tesla's overall sales globally have just been sliding here for uh for quite a while. U EV sales are down all over the globe. Um I mean, not in every market, but the Chinese have pulled back on some of the incentives there.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- tesla ev sales
- ai data center capex
- tech bubble fears
- intel turnaround
- ev production partnerships
Companies and tickers mentioned
- TSLA
- STLA
- MSFT
- INTC
- Tesla Inc.
- Stellantis
- Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co.
- Microsoft
- Intel
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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