While COVID-19 continues to batter the global economy, Tesla proves yet again that it isn’t limited by what the market dictates, as it went on to deliver 90,650 vehicles in Q2, far surpassing expert estimates.
The company had started the year with a goal of 500,000 deliveries by its end, a number, that while overly optimistic, wasn’t impossible. However soon, the landscape of the automobile market, and the whole world changed, when COVID-19 reared its ugly head in Q1. Even back then, industry experts had made some estimates. Even back then, they were proven wrong. And now, they have been proven wrong yet again.
While Refinitiv suggested that the company wouldn’t go above 74,130 deliveries, Tesla emerged as the surprise it has always been, and managed to end up well in the 90,000s. This, has baffled many, who suggest that reaching 90k deliveries in the wake of a pandemic is nothing short of a miracle. All of this, while the number of cases continue to soar in the U.S., is a testament to Tesla’s hold in the market, which has managed to become the highest-valued automaker, surpassing Toyota Motors Corp.
Out of these 90,60 units, Model Y sport utility vehicle and Model 3 accounted for 80,050.
This advancement still continues to astound experts, given how Tesla’s only operating facility in the U.S., the one in California, was shut down for another 6 weeks after its reopening, since the cases in the region continued to rise. But that isn’t to say that this didn’t affect the company at all. While deliveries went up by 2.5%, production took a 20% dive in the quarter.
In fact, the proportion between the number of vehicles produced and delivered in Q1 2020, with respect to the number of vehicles produced and delivered in Q2 has flipped. In simple words, while in Q1, Tesla produced more vehicles than it delivered, the situation was opposite in Q2. The company managed to produce 103,000 vehicles in Q1, while only managing to ship out 88,400 of them, while in Q2, it delivered 90,650 vehicles, even though the production stagnated at 82,272.
On the other hand, the company’s latest Shanghai gigafactory continues to operate close to its max output, and has been churning out Model 3 cars at a rapid rate. The company has big plans for this facility, and hopes to ramp the production up to produce 150,000 vehicles by the end of this year.
All of this has filled Tesla with hope for a better tomorrow. In fact, the company has decided to stick to its earlier estimate of 500,000 deliveries, which is one of the biggest brags the industry has ever seen. Not only did Tesla set a nigh impossible target for itself, it is sticking to it while the world continues to fight a pandemic. That has to be the biggest flex of 2020.
All being said, Tesla still saw a decrease in deliveries on an yearly basis. While the decrease wasn’t as drastic as many were expecting, it was a still a decrease. The company had managed to ship out 95,200 vehicles during Q2 2019, a number, that saw a 4.8% decline and ended up being about 5,000 less in Q2 2020. Still, compared to Q1 2020, when the company had delivered about 88,400 vehicles, things are looking up for the Elon Musk led electric vehicles company.
The announcement caused Tesla’s share to increase by 8%, surging about $85 in early trading to $1,204. The company recently reached a valuation of $208 billion, taking the spot from Toyota for the most valuable automaker in the world.
