Tesla set new records for both production and delivery of vehicles in the third quarter of 2019, the company announced on Wednesday. Tesla produced 96,155 vehicles and delivered slightly more—97,000.
It's a modest improvement over the 95,200 cars Tesla delivered in the second quarter. But Wall Street wasn't impressed by the new figures, with Tesla stock falling about 4% in after-hours trading.
One of the most significant trends in Tesla's vehicle deliveries this year has been the sharp decline in sales of Tesla's pricier Model S and Model X models. Tesla enjoyed combined S and X sales of almost 100,000 vehicles in 2018—or nearly 25,000 per quarter.
Then sales of the Model S and X plunged to 12,100 in the first quarter of 2019. This was a painful shift given the higher margins on these vehicles. Tesla delivered 17,650 of the high-end vehicles in the second quarter but then backslid (slightly) to 17,400 in Q3. That's not going to be good for Tesla's profit figures, which are expected out later this month.
On the other hand, Tesla continued to enjoy steady growth in Model 3 deliveries. Tesla delivered 79,600 of the more-affordable vehicle in Q3, compared to 77,550 in Q2. That works out to more than 6,000 vehicles per quarter.
The latest delivery figures mean that Tesla will have to work hard to meet its overall 2019 goal to deliver between 360,000 and 400,000 vehicles for the year. Tesla has delivered 255,200 vehicles so far, so it needs to deliver atRead More – Source
