Tesla shares tumbled on Tuesday after a sharp drop in sales in Europe, while US consumer confidence dragged Wall Street lower.
The electric vehicle maker's sales in Europe and the UK fell by 45.2 per cent year on year in January, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (Acea). Tesla's drop bucked a wider trend in Europe, where new battery-electric car sales rose by 34 per cent in January and captured a 15 per cent market share, according to Acea.
Tesla closed 8.39 per cent lower when trading ended in the US on Tuesday at $302.80 a share. The company's valuation also fell below $1 trillion, to $973.96 billion.
Tesla reported a drop in sales for the first time in 2024, as the company faces increased competition from China's BYD and other car makers.
It also comes as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk intrudes more into European politics. Mr Musk threw his support behind Germany's far-right AfD party and called to congratulate its co-leader on increasing its support from the last election.
Mr Musk is also a close associate of US President Donald Trump after pouring billions of dollars into his 2024 electoral campaign. Since taking charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) on January 20, he has sought to drastically reduce the size of the US federal government and cut off foreign aid.
US consumer confidence dips
US markets remained on edge before Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, as weak consumer confidence dragged stocks lower.
Analysts estimate a quarterly revenue of $38.16 billion for 2025's fourth quarter and an earnings per estimate forecast of 0.85, according to data compiled by Yahoo Finance.
Nvidia fell by 2.8 per cent to $126.63 a share, dragging the Nasdaq Composite down 1.35 per cent. The S&P 500 fell 0.47 per cent while the Dow Jones Industrial Averaged climbed 159.95 points, or 0.37 per cent.
Markets dipped after a new report showed US consumer confidence dipped sharply in February over growing concerns of how Mr Trump's policies will affect the economy. The Consumer Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell by seven points to 98.3, its largest drop since August 2021.
“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019. Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board.
Average 12-month inflation expectations also surged from 5.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent.
“Tariff worries are rattling consumers' cages in a way that they perhaps did not in the current President's first term,” Wells Fargo economists Tim Quinlan and Jeremiah Kohl wrote in a note.
Federal Reserve officials say it is still too soon to know how Mr Trump's policies will affect the inflation battle, although they have indicated in recent weeks they are willing to hold interest rates steady for several months amid policy uncertainty and a lack of progress in bringing down inflation.
“All this uncertainty argues for caution as we look to wrap up the inflation fight. If headwinds persist, we may well need to use policy to lean against that wind,” Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said earlier on Tuesday.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
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Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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