Dive Brief:

• Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold another $1.1 million in shares of common stock last week, according to a Friday securities filing.
• The sale represents the second offloading of shares by the Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker’s finance chief this month, following another $1.1 million transaction on May 1, CFO Dive previously reported. Including his most recent sale, Taneja — whose compensation in 2024 reached over $139 million, largely comprised of stock awards — has sold approximately $7.6 million in shares to date as part of a trading plan adopted in May 2024.  
• The sales come as the EV maker continues to face economic pressures, including tariffs and waning sales in key market such as China, as well as ongoing brand hostility related to the political activities of its CEO, Elon Musk.

Dive Insight:

The EV maker reported disappointing results for its Q1 2025 at the end of April, with profit slumping 71% from the prior year period due to tariff uncertainty and other cost challenges, leading the company’s board to reportedly begin a search process for a successor to Musk as CEO, according to The Wall Street Journal. The board’s move to possibly oust Musk — which Tesla denied — represented a “warning shot” against Musk by company leadership, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said at the time.

Tesla’s stock value has whipsawed in recent months, rising on the news that Musk would be stepping back from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency to focus more on the EV maker, CFO Dive previously reported. Its share value skyrocketed Monday after the United States and China reached an agreement to pause tariffs for 90 days, both spikes which came after the EV maker’s stock value plummeted by more than 25% earlier in the year. 

However, analysts are still expecting a slower pace in deliveries for 2025 in spite of the bump in stock value, in part due to inflationary pressures impacting consumer demand, as well as the company’s models reaching market saturation, according to a Monday Morningstar report.

Despite a refresh of its Model Y vehicle, Tesla’s sales in key regions such as China have continued to wane amid both tariff pressures and rising competition in the EV market  — April deliveries slumped by nearly 26% compared with the prior month, the South China Morning Post reported, citing data by the China Passenger Car Association. 

While weathering declining sales and brand hostility, Tesla is also facing roadblocks related to new projects, such as the launch of its long-awaited “Robotaxis” — self-driving vehicles which would offer ride-sharing services. Earlier this year, Musk announced a June 2025 launch date for the self-driving vehicles — a long-term passion project for the CEO — with Tesla beginning testing for these vehicles in April, according to Bloomberg.

However, the project and its autonomous driving technology have raised concerns among regulators; Tesla recently received a letter from the  Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requesting further information about the vehicles’ technology and its plans to evaluate their use on public roads.

“Based on public statements, the agency understands that Tesla first plans to operate a fleet of Model Y vehicles in Austin, TX on public roadways in June 2025 and that Tesla may offer paid rides while operating “fully autonomously” at that time with potential expansion to other cities this year,” the May 8 letter reads. As such, the office is requesting information regarding the vehicles, including the technology in use and the role of any in-vehicle or remote staff, with Tesla to respond by June 19.

Last week in another project hiccup for the company, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also rejected an application by the company to trademark “Robotaxi” for its vehicles, on the grounds the name was too generic, TechCrunch reported. Another application to apply “Robotaxi” to its ride-hailing service is still pending, according to TechCrunch.