Tesla EV sales plunged 13% in Elon Musk backlash

Driving the news: The company delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter, down from 386,810 in the same period a year earlier.

• Deliveries are considered a close proxy for sales.
• "This delivery number was a disaster for the bulls with continuous negativity around the TSLA brand," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote today in a research note. "We are not going to look at these numbers with rose colored glasses...they were a disaster on every metric."

Zoom in: The sales drop came despite a ramp up in incentives, such as 0% financing deals.

• The company is facing a significant sales decline in key markets, such as Europe, California and China.
• "The time has come for Musk....it's a fork in the road moment. The more political he gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate," Ives wrote. "This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla."

Yes, but: A new, more affordable model is on the way later this year, potentially juicing sales.

The impact: Tesla shares fell 6.1% after the opening bell to $252.14.