Bottlenecks: Tesla’s China chief Tom Zhu speaks at a delivery ceremony for the Model 3 in Shanghai. Multiple factors, including rising interest rates and recession fears, are holding back the automaker’s progress. — Reuters
NEW YORK: Tesla Inc reported record fourth quarter electric vehicle production and deliveries on Monday, but it fell short of Wall Street expectations due to logistics issues, slowing demand, rising interest rates and recession fears.
The world’s most valuable automaker delivered 405,278 vehicles in the last three months of the year, compared with Wall Street expectations of 431,117 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data.
The company had delivered 308,600 vehicles in the same period a year earlier.
Tesla delivered 388,131 Model 3 compact sedans and Model Y sports utility vehicles compared with 17,147 Model X and Model S luxury cars.
In total, Tesla made 439,701 cars in the fourth quarter.
As logistical bottlenecks persisted – an issue chief executive officer Elon Musk had said in October he was working to resolve – Tesla’s fourth quarter deliveries fell about 34,000 vehicles short of production.
In the third quarter, the company’s deliveries were about 22,000 units fewer 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.
Among other headwinds facing Tesla, analysts have cited demand weakness in the world’s top auto market, China, as well as stiff competition from legacy automakers.
The reference here was made to the Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co and startups, including Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group.
Tesla plans to run a reduced production schedule in January at its Shanghai plant, according to a Reuters report, based on a review of an internal schedule.
Tesla’s stock, which did not trade on Monday due to the New Year’s holiday, fell 65% in 2022.
That was its worst year since going public in 2010.
Analysts and retail shareholders feared demand issues stemming from an uncertain economy would dent the company’s target to grow 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 host its Investor Day on March 1 and livestream the event from its Gigafactory in Texas.
It is here where the company will discuss long-term plans for expansion and capital allocation.
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 would be cheaper and smaller than the Model 3 and Model Y cars. — Reuters
