Tesla Inc. shipped 435,059 cars globally in the third quarter, as factory downtime led to its first quarterly delivery decline in more than a year.
(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. shipped 435,059 cars globally in the third quarter, as factory downtime led to its first quarterly delivery decline in more than a year.
The results, posted Monday, missed expectations. Several Wall Street analysts had slashed their delivery estimates in recent days, and the consensus compiled by Bloomberg fell to 456,722 as of Friday. Tesla delivered 466,140 cars in the second quarter.
The electric-vehicle maker signaled it would deliver fewer cars in the period as it prepared its factories to make a refreshed Model 3 sedan and the yet-to-be-released Cybertruck. The company has now delivered more than 1.3 million cars globally this year and will have to pick up the pace in the fourth quarter with deliveries of more than 475,000 units to meet its guidance for the year, which it reaffirmed in Monday’s release.
“Our 2023 volume target of around 1.8 million vehicles remains unchanged,” the company said in the production and deliveries statement Monday.
Tesla shares rose 0.5% to $251.41 at noon in New York.
“The stock is not moving too much because management reiterated their 1.8 million vehicle guidance for the year, which implies strong growth again in the fourth quarter,” said Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar Research Services LLC.
Tesla took several steps to boost sales this year, with price cuts designed to stoke demand amid higher interest rates and inflation. It’s been slashing prices of its models all year, with markdowns as large as 34% for the Model X.
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Tesla doesn’t break out sales by region, but the US and China are its largest markets and the bulk of sales were of the Model 3 sedan and Y crossover. Tesla said it made 430,488 vehicles during the quarter.
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The softer sales this quarter will likely weigh on earnings. Tesla will post its financial results for the third quarter of 2023 after market close on Oct. 18, 2023.
The company makes the Model S, X, 3 and Y at its plant in Fremont, California. The Shanghai plant produces the Model 3 and Y. Newer plants in Berlin and Austin make the Model Y.
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