Tesla Inc reports record electric vehicle shipments for the first quarter. Unfortunately, production was still down from the previous quarter as supply chain disruptions and China factory suspensions weighed on.
Tesla shipped 310,048 vehicles in the quarter, a slight increase from the previous quarter, and up 68% from a year earlier. Previously, Wall Street had expected deliveries to be around 308,836 cars.
Meanwhile, Tesla only produced 305,407 vehicles from January to March, down from 305,840 in the previous quarter.
"This has been a very difficult quarter due to supply chain disruptions and China's zero Covid policy. Excellent work by the Tesla team & key suppliers saved the day," said Chief Executive Elon Musk, quoted by Reuters on Sunday (3/4).
As is well known, Tesla has navigated the pandemic and supply chain disruptions better than its competitors and its new factory in Shanghai has fueled growth.
But the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in China has forced Tesla to temporarily suspend production at its Shanghai plant for a few days in March and April as the city goes into lockdown.
Musk said in October that Shanghai had surpassed its Fremont, California plant, the company's first plant in production. Both plants are critical to Tesla's goal of increasing shipments by 50% this year, as production at its new plant is expected to increase slowly in their first year.
Tesla began shipping vehicles made at its plant in Gruenheide, Germany, in March and deliveries of cars made at its Austin, Texas, plant will begin in the near future.
Tesla said it had sold a total of 295,324 Model 3 sedans and Model Y sports vehicles, while it was shipping 14,724 Model S luxury sedans and Model X premium SUVs.
Meanwhile, soaring gas prices driven by the Ukraine crisis are expected to boost demand for electric cars, but a lack of supplies and higher vehicle prices will weigh on sales.
Tesla in March raised prices in China and the United States after Musk said the US electric car maker was facing significant inflationary pressures in raw materials and logistics following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Toyota and GM's Hyundai Motor on Friday reported lower US first-quarter sales than a year earlier.
Subscribe Daily Post or Follow Google News to update information quickly, Thank you..!!