Mashable notes that as of Tuesday morning Trump has offered up no evidence that he followed through with his pledge to buy a Tesla vehicle. As for Musk, he's spent the day personally thanking his fans, such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, for voicing their support for Tesla on his social media platform X.

This suggests that a reaction from consumers who dislike Mr Musk’s antics are only one reason for falling sales. An updated Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, has just gone on sale. In preparation Tesla ran down inventory of the old model, crimping supply. Customers doubtless held off purchases until the new car was available.

Tesla now faces headwinds from the president Musk helped elect. Trump, a frequent EV critic, has called for scrapping EV subsidies and policies that have added billions of dollars to Tesla’s bottom line. Musk has dismissed the impact on Tesla of losing subsidies, saying rivals would suffer more.