Tesla’s new Model 3 sedans wait for shipment at the Shanghai Haitong International Automobile Terminal in Shanghai, China, March 14, 2024.
VCG | Getty Images
You’re here has just published its report on vehicle production and deliveries for the first quarter of 2024. Here are the key figures:
Total deliveries Q1 2024: 386,810
Total production Q1 2024: 433,371
Shares fell 7% in premarket trading.
Tesla does not break down its sales by model, but said it produced 412,376 Model 3/Y cars and delivered 369,783 of them. It produced 20,995 of its other models and delivered 17,027 of them.
During the same period last year, the electric automaker reported 422,875 deliveries and production of 440,808 vehicles. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Tesla reported 484,507 deliveries and production of 494,989 vehicles.
Deliveries are the closest approximation of Tesla’s reported sales, but are not precisely defined in the company’s shareholder communications.
According to an average of 11 estimates compiled by FactSet, analysts expected deliveries of about 457,000 for the period ending March 31. Estimates ranged from a high of 511,000 deliveries to a low of 414,000 for the first quarter, with updated estimates in March ranging from 414,000 to 469,000 deliveries.
Independent auto industry researcher Troy Teslike, whose work is closely followed by Tesla fans, expected about 409,000 deliveries.
Tesla’s head of investor relations, Martin Viecha, sent out a company-compiled consensus over the weekend based on estimates from 30 analysts to screen investors. The consensus, seen by CNBC, says analysts expected an average of 443,027 deliveries and a median of 431,125 deliveries for the quarter.
Tesla faced many challenges in the first quarter.
Attacks by Houthi militias on transporters in the Red Sea disrupted Tesla’s component supply and temporarily suspended production at its German factory near Berlin in January. In March, environmental activists burned down infrastructure near the same factory, depriving Tesla of sufficient operational power and once again causing a pause in production.
In China, Tesla has faced fierce competition from domestic electric vehicle makers, including BYD, and new entrants such as phone maker Xiaomi. After sluggish sales for its China-made cars in January and February, Tesla cut production of its Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai factory and cut workers’ hours from 6 1/2 days to 5 days a week.
In the United States, reviews were mixed for Tesla’s new model – an angular pickup dubbed Cybertruck – which the electric vehicle maker only began selling in small numbers in December last year.
A series of discounts and incentives have proven less effective in increasing sales volume than in the past for Tesla.
In the final days of the first quarter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked all sales and service personnel to install and demonstrate the latest version of the top-of-the-line driver assistance system. company’s range for customers in North America before handing over their cars. The system is marketed under the name Full Self-Driving but does not make Tesla cars autonomous. They require a human behind the wheel, ready to steer or brake at a moment’s notice.
Tesla shares fell 29% in the first quarter, the biggest drop since late 2022 and the third steepest quarterly fall since the company went public in 2010.
WATCH: Tesla is going through a “code red situation”
cnbc
