Tesla Reports Increase in Its Output and Deliveries

Tesla reported on Wednesday that it delivered 97,000 new cars in the third quarter, a rise of almost 2 percent from the second quarter.

The total puts Tesla in position to approach or reach the range it forecast for the full year.

Tesla delivered 79,600 Model 3 sedans in the quarter, an increase of 2.6 percent compared to the second quarter, the company said in a statement. Model S and Model X deliveries totaled 17,400 cars in the third quarter, 250 fewer than in the previous three-month period.

While the rise provides Tesla with some good news, analysts remain skeptical about whether higher sales will be enough to enable to company to make money in the quarter. Tesla lost $408 million in the second quarter even as it reported record deliveries of 95,356 cars and a substantial increase in revenue.

Jeffrey Osborne of Cowen & Company said in a recent note to clients that Tesla in particular had to cut costs enough to make money on the least expensive version of the Model 3, which sells for $39,000 and makes up a large portion of its sales. If the company cannot do that, “margins are likely to continue to be under pressure and we don’t see sustainable profitability in the near to midterm,” Mr. Osborne said. He added that Cowen saw “a lot more that can go wrong than can go right.”

Tesla is expected to report its third-quarter earnings in the next several weeks.

Tesla said it produced 96,155 cars in the third quarter, an increase of 10 percent from the second quarter.

So far this year, Tesla has delivered 255,200 cars. To reach the low end of the range it forecast for the year — 360,000 to 400,000 — it will need to sell more than 100,000 in the fourth quarter, a quarterly total it has not yet achieved.

Since introducing the Model S in 2012, Tesla has become one of the top producers of luxury cars in the United States, rivaling more established rivals like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. But the company has yet to turn a profit since its founding in 2003, and it faces challenges on many fronts. Automakers including Porsche, Volvo and Audi are rolling out competing electric cars at a time when Tesla is at least a year away from adding its next model, the Model Y, a roomier version of the Model 3.

Source link