45%

Tesla on Tuesday reported a 45 percent decline in profit in the second quarter of 2024. The drop from the same period a year ago was the latest example of the auto maker’s weak sales of electric vehicles and a sign that its investments in emerging technology could take many years to pay off.

Things have been topsy-turvy for Tesla in recent months. While shares of the company are down this year, they jumped for a while in June on hopes that Tesla would transform into an artificial intelligence company that operates a driverless taxi service and sells robots for manufacturing and other tasks.

Tesla did have some positive news to report. In the second quarter, the company sold nearly $900 million in regulatory credits to other automakers that need them to meet emissions standards. That was up from around $300 million a year ago. And battery system sales doubled from 2023 to $3 billion.

But overall sales of the company’s electric cars have slowed. They fell nearly 5 percent in the second quarter, while production declined around 14 percent, to about 411,000 cars. The slowdown has come as Tesla has faced growing competition in electric vehicle production from other manufacturers: The company’s share of electric vehicle sales in the United States in the second quarter fell under 50 percent for the first time, down from nearly 60 percent a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive, a research firm.

The conservative politics of Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, may have contributed to his company’s struggles. A majority of the respondents to a New York Times questionnaire were critical of Mr. Musk.

In China, the United States and Europe, competitors have made up ground on Tesla.

“Perhaps more than ever in the company’s recent history, Tesla’s investors need results,” said Thomas Monteiro, a senior analyst at Investing.com.