Tesla Reports Better Than Expected Q2 Deliveries, Stock Reaches an All-Time High

resource from: Reuters   

One day after electric automaker Tesla became the world's most valuable automaker with a market cap of $206 billion, the California automaker reported vehicle deliveries which beat analysts expectations, sending the company's stock to record highs.

Shares of Tesla jumped by $85 in early trading to $1,204, the highest stock price since Tesla became a public company in 2010. Tesla took the title of the world's most valuable automaker away from Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota's market cap is $204.7 billion respectively.

The stock rally on Thursday reflects growing investor and consumer confidence in Tesla. 

Tesla appears to be somewhat immune from the coronavirus pandemic, as rival automakers experience falling sales in 2020, demand for the fully-electric Model 3 and Model S remains strong.

Tesla built 82,272 vehicles in Q2 and reported delivery of 90,650 vehicles during the second quarter, well above estimates for 74,130 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data. The automaker delivered a combined 80,050 units of its new Model Y crossover and Model 3 for the quarter.

Tesla does not break up the sales figures for each individual model.

Tesla' strong demand extends to China, which is the world's biggest auto market and an important market for Tesla to remain profitable. Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory went online late last year and its building the Model 3 sedan and eventually the Model Y crossover there, avoiding China's steep import tariffs on imported autos.

Tesla says that the Model Y production ramp up in Shanghai is one of its most important near term projects.

Chinese vehicle registrations revealed that around 16,200 Teslas were registered in China in April and May combined.

A decade ago, Tesla was dismissed by legacy automakers as a niche electric carmaker that would pose little threat to their sales. But Tesla's advanced electric vehicles can be updated via over-the-air software updates have become the envy of the auto industry, leaving rival automakers scrambling to catch up.

Analysts said the solid delivery numbers heightened expectations for a profitable second quarter, which would mark the first time in Tesla's history that it would report four consecutive quarters of profit.

"A 90k delivery number in this COVID lockdown environment is a jaw dropper," Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note to Reuters.

Tesla's new Model Y crossover is expected to become a big seller going forward.

Tesla strength as a leading automaker is likely to grow even further boosted by the Model Y crossover.  The new Model Y has the potential to become a big hit for the automaker. The Model Y is Tesla's first crossover vehicle, an auto industry segment that is widely popular with U.S. consumers. 

Chief Executive Elon Musk said in the past that the Model Y has the potential to outsell all of Tesla's other models combined. The Model Y is currently in production in Fremont, California.

Tesla is also ramping up output at its Shanghai vehicle factory, where it aims to produce 150,000 vehicles by the end of this year. Tesla's Shanghai factory was impacted by the coronavirus in February, but production has since resumed as China emerges from the global pandemic. 

Tesla's factory in California, its sole U.S. assembly plant, was also forced to shut down in March due to California's mandatory shelter-in-place orders. The plant remained closed for six weeks causing a 20% drop in production. However, that was outweighed by a 2.5% increase in deliveries. The factory is currently back up to the production levels it was at before the pandemic.

"While our main factory in Fremont was shut down for much of the quarter, we have successfully ramped production back to prior levels," the automaker said in a statement.

Before the pandemic, Tesla was targeting deliveries of 500,000 vehicles in 2020, a number that's still unchanged.

Tesla reported its third consecutive profitable quarter in Q1 this year, the first time in the company's history. It was also Tesla's best first quarter for production and deliveries in the company's history. 

The company built 102,672 vehicles in the first quarter, even after its Fremont, California factory was forced to suspend operations in March during the coronavirus pandemic.  

Tesla is now seeking a location for a second U.S. vehicle factory to build its Model Y and its new electric Cybertruck. Rumors indicate that Austin, Texas is a strong candidate for Tesla's new factory.

resource from: Reuters

FutureCar Staff