Tesla Shatters Its Quarterly Sales Record — 24,500 Model S & Model X EVs Delivered In Q3 (70% Increase From Q2)
Update: The chart directly below was added several hours after publishing.
Originally published on Gas2.
Tesla Motors (TSLA) reported on Sunday that it delivered approximately 24,500 vehicles in the third quarter that ended September 30. In a statement emailed to Important Media and others, Tesla said 15,800 of the cars were Model S sedans and 8,700 were Model X SUVs. “This was an increase of just over 70% from last quarter’s deliveries of 14,402. Our Q3 delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct.”
The announcement continued, “In addition to Q3 deliveries, about 5,500 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter. These will not be counted as deliveries until Q4. Production rose to 25,185 vehicles in Q3. This was an increase of 37% from Q2 production of 18,345.″
The pressure was on Tesla to have a blockbuster quarter. It is planning another sale of stock in the near future to raise the capital it needs to begin production of the Model 3 on time. Investors are anxious to see if Tesla can meet its guidance of about 80,000 cars for 2016. If it meets that target, its stock price will go up and that will make it easier to sell more stock.
Tesla stated in its press release that “we expect Q4 deliveries and production to be at or slightly above Q3, despite Q4 being a shorter quarter and the challenge of delivering vehicles in winter weather over holidays. Guidance of 50,000 vehicles for the second half of 2016 is maintained.” That’s the sort of news that should make investors very happy.
Elon Musk was pleased with the news. He immediately retweeted an article from VentureBeat, which said, “to encourage orders for its electric vehicles, Tesla has pulled out practically all the stops to encourage ordering, including offering a 2-year lease on Model S and X vehicles and even producing a new Model S sedan with a larger battery and faster acceleration. This is certainly good news for Tesla, perhaps showing that customers aren’t dissuaded by recent reports of accidents involving Tesla and its self-driving capabilities.”
After the announcement, Bloomberg noted, “the quarter was Tesla’s last chance to show that it can be profitable before it raises money to ramp up production of the new Model 3.” The 24,500 vehicles delivered, beat the expectations of the most bullish investors.
People keep betting against Tesla and Tesla keeps proving them wrong. This third quarter performance wasn’t a home run, it was a grand slam. Will the doubters be convinced now?
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