CEO Elon Musk pledged Tesla would return to growth this year after the company posted its first-ever sales decline in 2024. But the odds look stacked against him.

Tesla sales plunged 13% in the first three months of this year, as the company reported the largest drop in deliveries in its history by far, as backlash against CEO Elon Musk, and growing competition from other automakers’ electric vehicles,

Mr. Musk’s involvement in right-wing politics contributed to a 13% drop in deliveries in the first quarter, including steep declines in E.V.-friendly places like Norway.