EV maker Tesla (TSLA) saw its car registrations in California drop by 15.1% year-over-year in Q1, which was the sixth straight quarter of declines, according to Experian Automotive. This drop happened even as total new car registrations in the state went up by 8.3%. The California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) said that Californians are increasingly turning away from Tesla and pointed to Elon Musk’s controversial public image as a possible reason.
Because of the decline, Tesla’s share of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) market in California fell to 43.9% at the end of Q1, down 11.6% and now below half of all ZEV sales. This has hurt overall ZEV market momentum as ZEVs now make up just 20.8% of total car sales compared to 22% a year earlier. CNCDA Chairman Robb Hernandez said that car dealers are focused on selling what customers want, and the decline in Tesla sales shows that mandates alone won’t boost EV sales if buyers are not interested.
Furthermore, for all of 2025, California’s total car registrations are expected to dip by 2.3% to 1.71 million. Interestingly, among all car brands, Toyota (TM) led the market with a 16.5% share, while Honda (HMC) followed with 10.8%, and Tesla came in third with 9.1%. Despite its third-place position overall, Tesla’s falling numbers point to a shift in buyer preferences that make meeting the state’s EV goals more difficult.
Is Tesla a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 16 Buys, 11 Holds, and 11 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average TSLA price target of $305.93 per share implies 24.6% upside potential.
