Suzanne Cordeiro | AFP | Getty Images Tesla just released its second quarter vehicle production and delivery numbers for 2022. Here are the key numbers:
Total deliveries Q2 2022: 254,695 Total production Q2 2022: 258,580
Delivery numbers, which are the closest approximation of sales reported by Tesla, fell well short of analysts’ expectations. According to a consensus compiled by FactSet-owned Street Account, analysts expected deliveries of 256,520 vehicles for the quarter, which was marked by Covid restrictions, supply chain grunts, semiconductor chip and other parts shortages. Last year, Tesla delivered 201,250 vehicles in the second quarter, the first time it delivered more than 200,000 units in a three-month period. In the first quarter of 2022, Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles. Today’s delivery numbers represented a 26.5% year-over-year sales increase and a 17.9% sequential decline for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle business. The company has guided for around 50% average annual growth over the long term, depending on capacity and other factors. In Tesla’s first quarter shareholders, the company said: “We plan to increase our production capacity as quickly as possible. Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve a 50% average annual increase in vehicle deliveries.” In China this quarter, Tesla had to shut down or allow only some work at its Shanghai factory for weeks due to public health orders related to Covid. (FactSet noted that some analyst forecasts were excluded from the StreetAccount consensus if they did not take into account the Shanghai factory closing.) Other supply chain rumblings, exacerbated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, also affected Tesla and the broader auto industry during the quarter. Separately, Tesla is grappling with the high cost of building and starting production at new factories in Austin, Texas, and near Berlin, in addition to its factories in Fremont, Calif., and Shanghai. CEO Elon Musk has publicly lamented that the new factories are costing Tesla billions, but have yet to make enough vehicles and batteries to justify the cost. As startups and legacy automakers offer more new electric vehicles, Tesla’s share of the global and domestic electric vehicle market is expected to decline but remain significant.
