Tesla reports record 485K deliveries for Q4; hits 1.8 million annual delivery goal
Hitting its 1.8 million delivery target is a 'clear win' for Musk and Tesla.
Tesla (TSLA) set a new delivery record for the fourth quarter and met its 2023 delivery target, shaking off a third quarter miss and assuaging investors concerned with any hiccups as competition ramps up across the globe.
For Q4 Tesla reported 484,507 deliveries, beating Street estimates of 483,173, as compiled by Bloomberg. That figure represents an all-time record quarter for Tesla, nearly 20,000 units higher than its past record quarter of 466,000 units delivered in Q2 of last year.
From a production standpoint, Tesla produced 494,989 vehicles, easily topping estimates of 482,336, per Bloomberg. Tesla, which does not break down delivery or production figures by region, reported it produced 476,777 of its high volume Model 3 and Model Y EVs, again topping expectations of 468,680 produced. Tesla did not break out sales of the Model X, Model S, or Cybertruck separately, only listing them under the “other models” category.
All told for 2023, Tesla said vehicle deliveries grew 38% year over year to 1.81 million while production grew 35% YoY to 1.85 million. While its 38% delivery growth rate was below its 50% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) target, Tesla previously said it would not attain that goal due to factory shutdowns and improvements that occurred in Q3.
“This was an important quarter for Tesla to show strong deliveries with clear momentum into 2024 as demand has upticked since 3Q based on all our global checks,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients shortly after Tesla released delivery figures. “Pricing was stable and actually increased in China throughout the quarter as the price war in China has finally hit a calm period which is music to the ears of Tesla bulls.”
Speaking of China, Tesla has been facing increased competition in the region and was just dethroned as the global EV king, at least in Q4. China’s BYD reported it delivered 526,409 pure EVs globally in Q4, topping Tesla for the first time. While Tesla delivered more EVs in 2023, it's only a matter of time before BYD takes the title as it grows its deliveries both in mainland China, as well as new territories like Europe.
Nonetheless, for Tesla bulls, today’s delivery numbers were a strong way to cap off the year, following a 2023 that saw the bloom fade slightly on EV expectations.
“This was a clear win for Musk and Tesla as hitting 1.8 million vehicles for 2023 was a major achievement in a choppy macro for EVs,” Wedbush’s Ives said.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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