Tesla reported record deliveries in the first quarter, though fell short of the pace required to meet Elon Musk’s long-held goal of 50 per cent annual growth. The electric vehicle pioneer delivered 422,875 cars worldwide last quarter after it cut prices to appeal to consumers buffeted by rising interest rates and faster inflation.
The results, posted on Sunday, came in just ahead of the
median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, for 421,164 vehicles to have
been shipped. “Tesla deliveries were in line with the consensus numbers, but it
was a disappointment relative to some of the whisper numbers,” said Gene
Munster, managing partner of Deepwater Asset Management.
“They grew deliveries 36 per cent from a year ago, but
Musk’s comment on the last earnings call was for 50 per cent delivery growth.
They will have to pick up the pace for deliveries for the rest of the year.”
The record quarterly sales received a muted reaction in Asia, where shares of
Tesla’s key suppliers and rivals were mixed.
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)
fell as much as 2.5 per cent while South Korea’s LG Energy Solution rose 0.5
per cent. Tesla accounts for 12 per cent of CATL’s sales, and 25 per cent of LG
Energy’s sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Austin, Texas-based
Tesla produced 440,808 vehicles during the quarter, more than the 432,513
analysts expected. On the last earnings call, Musk said Tesla aims to make 1.8
million to 2 million vehicles this year.
Tesla does not break out sales by region, but the US and
China are its largest markets. The overwhelming majority of sales were of the
Model 3 sedan and Y crossover.
Tesla slashed prices early in the year to boost demand after
fourth-quarter deliveries disappointed investors. “With everything going on in
the macro environment, these are very good numbers,” said Ben Kallo of Robert
W. Baird. “There are a lot of different consensus figures out there.
People will switch very quickly from this number to talking about what the margins will be for the first quarter. There’s been a lot of focus on price cuts hurting margins.” The company makes the Model S, X, 3 and Y models in Fremont, California. Its Shanghai factory produces the Model 3 and Y. Tesla also makes the Model Y at its plants in Austin and Berlin.