Despite Tesla Inc‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results, full-year results showed the EV company's first revenue decline, with deliveries down for a second straight year.
A new report on Tesla's declining brand valuation and ranking may signal more trouble ahead.
Tesla Brand Value Falls 36%
As reported by Electrek, Tesla's brand value fell 36% in the new report, plummeting by $15.4 billion from $43 billion in 2025 to a new total of $27.6 billion in 2026.
This marks the third straight year of declines for Tesla's brand valuation in the annual report. Tesla's brand value stood at $66.2 billion at its peak in 2023 before the three straight years of declines. The company's brand valuation is now less than half of what it was three years ago.
Brand Finance looks at consumer surveys, licensing agreements, and financials from 18 countries to make its rankings. Tesla's biggest declines were in Europe and Canada with the company dropping in rankings for "reputation, recommendation, trust and coolness."
Brand Finance CEO David Haigh said Tesla's prices compared to peers, CEO Elon Musk's "overreach" in geopolitics, Musk's lack of focus on the business, and a lack of new innovative models all contributed to the decline in valuation and scores.
In the U.S., Tesla’s recommendation score in the survey is only 4.0 out of 10.0, down from 8.2 two years ago. In 2023, Tesla’s recommendation score in the U.S. was 8.2.
Tesla ranked 75th in the new report, down from 36th last year. The company is now outranked by automotive companies Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW.
Tesla's EV rival, BYD (OTC:BYDDY)(OTC:BYDDF), has not passed the company in the rankings. However, BYD's brand value is up 23% to $17.29 billion in the latest report. This comes as BYD passed Tesla for EV deliveries in 2025.
What's Next for Tesla
Tesla confirmed it will cease production of the Model S and Model X to focus on its Optimus humanoid bot.
The company’s full-year revenue of $94.8 billion is down around 3% year-over-year.
Deliveries also declined in China for the full year — a first for Tesla.
While Tesla faced demand issues in markets such as Europe and China, global electric vehicle sales were up 20% year-over-year, suggesting the issues may be more worrisome for Tesla than for others.
The latest brand rankings and valuations align with the delivery data.
In the report, one positive for Tesla is that the loyalty score rose from 90% to 92%. Existing Tesla owners perhaps stay loyal to the company, but getting new owners to switch has become even more difficult.
The brand damage done by Musk may take years to repair. Based on the latest report, Tesla could be in for another rough year in 2026 when it comes to EV deliveries. The question is if EV deliveries matter for the stock price anymore, as many investors and analysts are more focused on items like FSD, robotaxis, and the Optimus bot.
Tesla Stock Declines
Tesla shares are down 1.8% to $422.69 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $214.25 to $498.82. Tesla stock is down 3.6% year-to-date in 2026, after posting a gain of 18.6% in 2025.
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