Tesla is better at making cars. Do they deliver? Not so much.
Tesla's production showed its deliveries last year, a possible sign that the electric car manufacturer is facing sluggish demand for its status symbol cars. After a blocked end to 2018, which saw the company push through what CEO Elon Musk called "production hell" for his model 3, the figures published late Wednesday show that Tesla delivered only 63,000 cars in the first three months of 2019 down 30, 5 percent from the previous quarter. And the company delivered only 12,100 of its higher margin luxury S and X models, about half as many as in the fourth quarter. The company attributed the decline to "challenges" associated with "a massive increase in deliveries in Europe and China."
Total production also fell to 77.1[ads1]000 in the first quarter of 2019, down from 86555 in the fourth quarter of 2018, despite the company's production ramp for its "affordable" compact sedan, model 3. However, Tesla has again achieved its projection from earlier this year it would deliver between 360,000 and 400,000 cars in 2019.
Wall Street analysts had expected Tesla to face a tough quarter. First, the federal tax credit, which once beat $ 7,500 of the price of its electric vehicles, began its planned phasing out. In January, potential Tesla buyers saw it half to $ 3,750. It will fall further in the coming months, to $ 1,875 in July and to zero in 2020.
The company also continues to work through logistics, quality assurance and delivery speed stoppers . In February, Consumer Reports says it will no longer recommend Model 3, and cites reliability issues. In a phone conversation with reporters, Musk said, "I really have top priority this year, which makes Tesla fantastic." The company also withdrew a plan to close out the showrooms last month to reduce car prices. Now the company says that about half of the showrooms will remain open, and the prices increased by 3 percent on model S, X and most expensive variants of the 3 as a result.
Tesla had warned to expand sales in Europe and China could slow down deliveries. The company builds a model for Model 3 and the upcoming model Y compact SUV in Shanghai, and Musk has pre-planned plans for a assembly plant in Europe. But right now, Tesla is building cars only in its Fremont, California, facility. The company said in a press release that deliveries abroad had increased sharply and that 10,600 vehicles were in transit at the end of the quarter, compared to 2,907 at the end of 2018.
Even So, some analysts seemed surprised at Tesla's weaker number. "The first quarter is shaping a Tesla may forget, but must explain to shareholders who own it as a long-term disturbance," says Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas Bloomberg .
Jonas pointed to the surprisingly low number of Model S sedan and X crossover deliveries as a possible concern for the company, provided the vehicles do not receive an update this year. And serious luxury electric competitors are on the horizon: Porsche Taycan is set to go on stream this year, and Ford teases its all-electric "Mustang-inspired" sports car, which the automaker said this week would have a 300 mile range.
Nevertheless, Tesla said that US orders for model 3 "substantially exceeded" what it could deliver in the first quarter of 2019. So the question becomes: Can Tesla pass by on Model 3 alone, even for a little while? In February, the company finally started offering a $ 35,000 basic version of the vehicle and met Musk's dream of selling a "mass market" electrically. This month, Tesla held a revealing event (and started taking $ 2,500 reservations) for Model Y, which customers would look for in the fall of 2020.
Tesla shares fell 8.3 percent on Thursday and beaten around $ 4 billion of the company's market value. [19659003] Also on Thursday: A smiling Musk appeared in front of a federal judge in a courtroom in Manhattan to respond to charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that his tweeting had broken an earlier settlement with the agency over. .. his tweeting. Judge Alison Nathan seemed to signal that she was not ready to rule the dispute and ordered the parties to take two weeks to make a decision. But Nathan said she has "serious concern that what I am deciding here will not finally solve the problem," Bloomberg reported . The Tesla trail continues.
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