Tesla sales rise in UK, Korea as delivery miss keeps pressure on stock

Tesla reported mixed global sales trends, with gains in select international markets even as broader delivery concerns persist.

In the United Kingdom, Tesla’s new vehicle registrations rose 20% year-on-year to 8,599 units, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

However, the company lagged behind BYD, which recorded a 133% jump to 15,162 units over the same period.

In South Korea, Tesla registrations surged 330% to 11,134 vehicles in March compared with a year earlier, according to market researcher Carisyou.

The increase followed price cuts on China-made Model Y and Model 3 vehicles, which intensified competition among electric vehicle makers in the country.

Delivery miss highlights ongoing pressure

The overseas gains come after Tesla reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter delivery figures last week.

The company said it produced 408,386 vehicles in the January–March period but delivered only 358,023 units.

This fell short of prior consensus estimates of around 365,645 vehicles, as well as an average forecast of 368,903 units tracked by Visible Alpha.

Tesla produced 394,611 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and delivered 341,893 units.

Total deliveries declined 14.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2025 but rose 6.3% from a year earlier.

The results underscore a widening gap between production and demand, raising concerns about inventory build-up and pricing pressure.

The Tesla stock has remained under pressure after the release of the delivery report.

It slumped around 5% on Thursday and around 2% on Monday.

At the time of writing, the Tesla stock was up marginally in pre-market trading.

Tesla is now facing a rare period of sustained delivery weakness.

The company has recorded two consecutive years of declining annual deliveries, and some analysts warn that a third year of contraction is possible.

In Europe, Tesla’s broader performance has been weighed down by softer demand, although there are signs of recovery in certain markets.

France has emerged as a bright spot. Registrations rose 203% year-on-year to 9,569 vehicles in the first quarter, just below the record level seen in December 2023.

In China, Tesla’s locally manufactured EV sales grew 23.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, accelerating from 1.9% growth in the previous quarter.

Regulatory relief on summon feature

Separately, US regulators provided some relief on the safety front.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had closed a probe into nearly 2.6 million Tesla vehicles related to the “Actually Smart Summon” feature.

The system allows users to move vehicles over short distances using a smartphone app.

The agency said the feature was linked primarily to low-speed incidents involving minor property damage.

The investigation reviewed about 100 reported crashes, most involving vehicles striking stationary objects such as parked cars, garage doors or gates.

No injuries or fatalities were reported, and no major crashes or airbag deployments were identified.

Regulators concluded that the low frequency and severity of incidents did not warrant further action.

Tesla had already addressed concerns through software updates aimed at improving obstacle detection and vehicle response in dynamic environments.

Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month upgraded a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system to an “engineering analysis.”

It is more advanced stage that typically precedes a potential recall, expanding the review to about 3.2 million vehicles.