Tesla’s California market share tumbles despite aggressive price cuts

Despite significant price cuts as competitors stepped up, figures released on Friday indicated that Tesla’s market share in its crucial California market fell in the first quarter of the year.

According to calculations made by Reuters using information from the California Energy Commission, Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) held 59.6% of the battery electric market in California from January to March, which is the lowest share since 2017 and down from 72.7% for the same period last year.

Rivals including General Motors Co’s (GM.N) Chevrolet, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), and Kia Corp (000270.KS) grew their market shares in California throughout the time period, while they all still remain in the single digits.

According to a study by Reuters, Tesla’s sales in California made up 16% of the automaker’s global deliveries in 2017. The largest U.S. state for zero emission vehicles is California.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has drawn criticism for his acceptance of Republicans and pursuit of Twitter, especially in liberal places like California.

Tesla reported record quarterly vehicle deliveries for the quarter on a global scale, but despite price reductions, quarter-over-quarter sales growth was muted due to increasing competition, particularly in China, and a gloomy economic outlook.

Tesla’s first-quarter profitability were impacted by the price cutbacks, which led to a Thursday share price decline of almost 10%.