Tesla shares fall 7% after stock drops in 2018

Tesla shares plunged on Friday after the electric carmaker reported a smaller-than-expected quarter, raising questions about its future.

The company said it expected to sell just more than 500,000 vehicles in the second quarter, less than half the total for the first half of the year.

It also reported that sales of its Model X crossover, which it has been testing for months, were down 2.5 percent, despite an aggressive promotional campaign.

Shares of Tesla have fallen 8.4 percent since they closed Friday morning.

Analysts said the loss was driven by lower demand for the Model X, which was announced earlier this year.

“The company’s stock has been on a downward trend for the past couple of years, so it’s not surprising to see its stock decline, and we do expect the Model 3 to be a much more substantial part of Tesla’s second-half 2017 revenue mix,” said Richard Greenfield, head of auto research at IHS Automotive.

Tesla is also facing competition from electric carmakers, including rival Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Mercedes-BMW is rumored to be planning a bigger-than, or even an all-electric, SUV.