France was
incredible this year, but if I understand it correctly was due to incentives ending on 31/12. So demand was pulled ahead, we'll see what happens in 2024. But great for them, of course. I just don't think these numbers are "organic" and sustainable.
What "disappointed" me (please take the word with a grain of salt) is that European sales started with a
blast (95k in Q1, due to price reductions) then slowly decrease till Q4, historically the best of the year.
Now, we understand France, and probably demand was pulled ahead also for Germany, because of incentives ending abruptly.
Still, we know that in Q1 Berlin was ramping up production, and then stopped increasing around April. We (or at least I) don't know why.
We have been told it was for cost reduction and optimization, but in my naivety I thought that a steep price reduction in mid-January would have generated enough demand in Europe for Berlin to continue to ramp up through the whole 2023... It was not like that.
In general, it was a great 2023, especially compared to 2022, but we should be the first to recognize that we basically missed *two quarters* in 2022... So not a great comparison.
"Anticlimactic" is then not the wrong word, IMHO.
"Disappointing" I would use only for Germany, which decreased through the whole year, but is a very important market for Tesla, for obvious reasons.
I don't want to complain about a very good 2023, overall, but try to understand what's the play in Europe for Tesla. What to expect for 2024?
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