Satellite Images Reveal Tesla’s Big Unsold Car Problem

When it comes to Tesla, it seems like the only thing people want to talk about lately is the Cybertruck and its flaws. And while we can all have a laugh at that monstrosity on four wheels, the electric vehicle company has a problem with its growing parking lots of unsold Teslas in Austin, Texas. Telsa has struggled to sell cars recently, and those stockpiles are getting hard to hide, especially from satellites.

Sherwood News used satellite imagery to compare parking lots of unsold Tesla stockpiles in October 2023 versus five months later in March 2024. The images show much fuller parking lots in March versus October. This confirms what Tesla’s Q1 earnings in April said; the company is producing significantly more cars than it’s selling. Tesla’s deliveries declined 8.5% from last year, and the company produced nearly 47,000 more cars than it sold. This was the first decline in sales since 2020 when the covid-19 pandemic forced Tesla to shutter production.

The imagery from satellite imagery firm SkyFi paints a picture as to where these unsold Teslas are going: nowhere. The cars just sit in these parking lots until they’re shipped, according to Sherwood News. Jalopnik previously reported the Chesterfield Mall in St. Louis has been storing excess inventory for Tesla. Satellite images from SkiFi showed nearly 500 Teslas sitting there as of May 2024.

Later this week, Tesla shareholders are slated to vote on Elon Musk’s nearly $50 billion pay package at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. In February, a Delaware judge struck down that pay package after finding Musk had extensive ties with board members who approved his pay deal. Not only will shareholders vote on Musk’s pay package, but also on whether to relocate Tesla outside of Delaware entirely, likely to get away from that judge.

Meanwhile, Musk tweeted over the weekend that if any of his other companies go public, he will prioritize longtime Tesla shareholders. It’s unclear if that’s a hint that some company is actually going public soon or just a little nod to Tesla shareholders before the big vote. Either way, it’s clear Musk needs these folks on his side now more than ever, as Tesla struggles and he continues to grab power.