April 16 - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its vehicle registrations in California fall 15% year over year in the first quarter, marking its sixth consecutive quarterly decline, according to data from Experian Automotive.

The drop comes despite an 8% increase in total new car registrations across the state during the same period. Tesla's share of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) market in California fell to 43.9%, slipping below the 50% threshold for the first time. A year ago, the automaker commanded over 55% of the ZEV segment.

The California New Car Dealers Association attributed the ongoing decline in part to Tesla's direct-to-consumer sales approach and CEO Elon Musk's polarizing public profile. The association also warned that mandates alone won't sustain EV growth if customer demand fades.

Overall, ZEVs now account for 20.8% of all new car sales in California, down from 22% a year earlier.

Tesla still held the third spot in the state's overall vehicle market with a 9.1% share, trailing Toyota (NYSE:TM) at 16.5% and Honda (NYSE:HMC) at 10.8%.

For the full year, California's new car registrations are forecast to dip 2.3% to 1.71 million, the CNCDA said.