Fourth quarter revenues grew by only 3% to $25.17 billion (£19.81 billion) for Tesla, the company said this week. 

It was the slowest growth for three years, while analysts had predicted revenue growth of $25.62 billion (£20.17 billion) for the period. Gross margin also slipped from 23.8% in Q4 2022 to 17.6% in the same period in 2023 – down from the predicted 18.3% and 0.3% less than Tesla achieved in Q3.

The figures suggest that Tesla's slashing of new car prices and it offering incentives to stimulate demand for its EVs hurt it financially. Record deliveries that dented margins and increases in production costs associated with the Cybertruck didn't help either. 

On release of the Q4 results, Tesla shares fell by 5% in late trading on Wall Street, before finishing at 3.6% down, or $5.37, at $200.46. 

Despite the wobble, analysts still believe the American firm will shift 2.2 million vehicles in 2024 – a 20% uplift on 2023.

Tesla said: “We expect the ramp of Cybertruck to be longer than other models, given its manufacturing complexity.”

The firm added that it has the capacity to build more than 125,000 units of the electric pick-up a year. 

The results came in the same week as news emerged that Tesla is targeting 2025 for the release of its much-anticipated £25,000 entry-level car.​

Price cuts dented Tesla's financial performance in Q4 2023