Storyline: The global sales of U.S. electric carmaker Tesla plunged nearly 13 percent in the first quarter of this year, the worst since 2022, as demand for the company's electric cars continues to weaken. It came after the EV giant announced its first quarter delivery numbers on Wednesday, and in the words of Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, "they were a disaster on every metric." Tesla reported deliveries of around 337,000 vehicles globally from January to March this year. That is down about 50,000 vehicles in the same period just one year ago, a fall of 13 percent. The decline comes despite big discounts, zero financing and other incentives. Many analysts had expected nearly 70,000 more deliveries. European markets have continued a downward trend for Tesla sales, as new registrations in France dropped 37 percent and in Sweden 64 percent. In China, Tesla appears to be losing momentum too, as sales in March there were down 11.5 percent from a year ago. This is due to fierce competition with Chinese EV brands like BYD and Geely, which both reported a surge in sales last month from the same period of 2024. In a press release, Tesla said the changeover of Model Y lines across its factories led to the loss of several weeks of production, yet there was no mention of the brand crisis that it's currently experiencing. The past weekend saw more than 200 protests at Tesla dealerships across the United States and other demonstrations around the world, including in Canada and Europe. That stems from anger over Musk's role in the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. Shotlist: Palo Alto, California, USA - April 2, 2025: 1. Sign outside Tesla headquarters; 2. Various of Tesla cars; 3. Poster; FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown: 4. Various of Tesla logo, cars at store; FILE: Shanghai, China - Oct 19, 2020: 5. Various of Tesla cars at parking lot; FILE: Shanghai, China - February, 2025: 6. Aerial shots of Tesla logo, factory FILE: Shanghai, China - Sept 7, 2023: 7. Cars rolling off assembly line at Tesla factory London, UK - March 15, 2025: 8. Various of Tesla cars 9. Tesla showroom. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]