- It’s rare for Tesla to offer less than it produces
- Tesla shares in 2022 had their worst year since going public
Jan 2 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) reported record production and delivery of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter on Monday, but missed Wall Street estimates, weighed down by logistics problems, slowing demand, the ‘rising interest rates and fears of recession.
The world’s most valuable automaker delivered 405,278 vehicles in the final three months of the year, compared with Wall Street expectations for 431,117 vehicles, according to data from Refinitiv.
The company had delivered 308,600 vehicles in the same period of the previous year.
Tesla delivered 388,131 Model 3 compact sedans and Model Y sport utility vehicles (SUVs) compared to 17,147 Model X and Model S luxury cars.
In total, Tesla made 439,701 cars in the fourth quarter.
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As logistics bottlenecks persisted — a problem CEO Elon Musk said in October he was working to resolve — Tesla’s fourth-quarter deliveries fell short of production by about 34,000 vehicles
In the third quarter, the company’s deliveries were about 22,000 units less than production.
Delivering fewer cars than it makes has been rare for the automaker, which in previous quarters delivered more or similar numbers of vehicles produced.
Among other headwinds for Tesla, analysts have cited weak demand in the world’s top auto market, China, as well as stiff competition from legacy automakers such as Ford Motor Co ( FN ), General Motors Co ( GM.N ) and startups such as Rivian Automotive. (RIVN.O) and Lucid Group (LCID.O).
Tesla plans to run a reduced production schedule in January at its Shanghai plant, extending the reduced production that began this month into next year, according to a Reuters report, based on a review of an internal schedule.
Tesla shares, which were not trading on Monday due to a New Year holiday, fell 65% in 2022, their worst year since going public in 2010. Analysts and retail shareholders feared that demand issues stemming from an uncertain economy could affect the company’s growth target. deliveries by 50% annually.
“This was a disappointing delivery number and the bulls will not be happy,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.
Tesla said in a separate statement that it plans to hold its Investor Day on March 1 and broadcast the event live from its Gigafactory in Texas when it will discuss long-term plans for expansion and allocation of capital
The automaker also hinted at a “generation 3” platform to show its investors on Investor Day. Musk said in October that Tesla was working on a “next-generation vehicle” that will be cheaper and smaller than the Model 3 and Model Y cars.
(This story has been re-created to remove the New York date)
Reporting by Akash Sriram and Baranjot Kaur in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Akanksha Khushi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Matthew Lewis, Howard Goller and Barbara Lewis
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