Early morning last Sunday, Tesla unveiled the official figures for its sales and production for the second quarter of this year. Beyond the expectations of others, the statistics are record-breaking, even beating Wall Street estimates, as news outlets point out.
Following this, Tesla shares also spiked nearly seven percent – with companies like Apple and AstraZeneca – reportedly driven partly by stronger-than-expected second-quarter deliveries and production numbers.
Record-breaking
Tesla’s official Twitter account revealed that during this year’s second quarter, it produced nearly 480,000 vehicles and delivered more than 466,000.
Looking closely at the second-quarter results, they show that Tesla produced 19,489 Model S and Model X during the last quarter. Also, around 19,225 units of these flagship cars were delivered to customers in Q2. Comparing the figures during the first quarter, only 10,695 vehicle units were delivered then.
Also, a considerable portion of Tesla’s production and deliveries during the second quarter comprised the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover. According to the company’s official press release, it produced 460,211 of these mainstream vehicles in Q2, with 446,915 of these cars delivered to customers last quarter.
What experts think
The figures are high and record-breaking. For Tesla fans, this is a day of celebration. However, when experts are asked, they want to look at them as just the tip of the iceberg.
Al Root of financial and investment news Barron’s said the figures beat Wall Street’s estimates, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Barron’s is one of the leading sources of financial news. It also provides in-depth analysis and commentary on stocks, investments, and market performance.
“Tesla delivered 466,140 vehicles in the second quarter. That’s a record, and better than what Wall Street had expected,” Root wrote. “Investors love a strong ‘beat,’ but it might not be enough to keep the stock moving higher, considering the starting point.”
Liam Denning, an opinion columnist on Bloomberg covering energy and commodities, and also a former investment banker, wrote a piece titled, “Tesla Sales Surge, But at What Cost?”
Denning recognized that these figures may have reached what they are today because of the price cuts, but he wanted to pay attention to what could happen in the future.
“Price cuts work — but only up to a point… The struggle between growth and margins, which defined the first half of 2023, has yet to be resolved,” he wrote.
The Bloomberg columnist added that what people wouldn’t know until July 19th is whether the products Tesla offered to entice buyers, including price cuts, inflicted further damage on profits. He recalled the time when Tesla reported its first-quarter results, which unnerved investors enough to wipe $56 billion, or around 10 percent, from its market cap the following day.
“While Tesla’s margins fell from a relatively high level, the notion that Tesla might suffer the oldest of Detroit’s afflictions — taking a hit on profits to move product — was hard to reconcile with the company’s more cutting-edge narratives,” Denning pointed out.
