Morgan Stanley: Tesla Rapidly Losing Market Share to Ford’s Mustang Mach-E

It appears that Elon Musk may soon be forced to roll up his sleeves and actually get to work instead of infatuating about Bitcoin, after Morgan Stanley’s latest Autos & Shared Mobility research report found that Tesla is rapidly losing its US market share thanks to growing Ford Mustang Mach-E sales.

The research report, titled “Feb US Sales: Mustang Mach-E Steals Major Tesla EV Share,” found that Tesla’s share of the EV market declined from 81% in February 2020, to 69% in February of this year. Although Tesla still has control of nearly three quarters of the market, Ford’s new electric SUV appears to be captivating would-be Tesla buyers. “BEV sales outgrew the total market by nearly 40% (EV +34% YoY adj. vs. total market -5%). Tesla’s share of the BEV market declined significantly to 69% vs. 81% in the prior year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E accounted for nearly 100% of the share loss,” Morgan Stanley wrote.

This is certainly positive news for Ford and its determined outreach into the EV space; however, Morgan Stanley estimated that Tesla’s February sales were around 21,550 units— thus still outpacing its competition by a noticeable margin. On the other hand though, it is worthwhile to note that Tesla is rather opaque about its sales levels, in that it does not break them down as much as other automakers do. In fact, registration data is unavailable in some US states, meaning that Tesla’s EV sales are estimates rather than actual market sales numbers.

In addition, Tesla also shut down its Model X production in February in order to revamp its manufacturing process, while Model 3 production was slowed down due to complications with its parts supply. Nonetheless, it appears that it has become increasingly difficult for Tesla to maintain its top spot in the EV market and its sliding share price further attests to the trend.

Information for this briefing was found via Morgan Stanley. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.