And the US company last year lost its title as the world’s biggest electric vehicle maker to Chinese rival BYD. As well as facing growing competition, Tesla has also been hit by a backlash against Musk – who courted controversy after he was tasked by president Donald Trump with slashing US government spending, a role he has since left. More recently, Tesla’s sales recovery has been hampered by the ending of a tax break scheme in the US for purchases of electric vehicles. Tesla is now looking beyond its role as a car maker as Musk steers it towards solar energy, humanoid robotics and self-driving taxis. Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said: ‘While the delivery numbers were quite underwhelming, this was not a shock to us given the current EV backdrop across geographies while the company shifts gears to focus more on its AI strategy.’ Share or comment on this article: Shares in Elon Musk's Tesla go into reverse after sales bounce-back falls short e-mail