Tesla beats expectations with record-quarter vehicle delivery despite global semiconductor shortage
Tesla delivered 308,600 cars worldwide in its fourth-quarter, a company record, despite continuing supply chain issues and economic turbulence caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The performance caps off a strong year for the company, which joined the exclusive trillion-dollar club, home to giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.
The surprisingly strong results posted on Sunday pushed the electric car manufacturers total sales for year to than 930,422.
This was an 87 per cent increase on 2020’s deliveries of just under half a million.
Analysts had expected Tesla to only deliver 263,026 vehicles in the fourth quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
The results are particularly impressive, as the seventh consecutive quarterly gain comes amid a global semiconductor slump that has hampered production at most other automakers and kept sales in check despite rising demand.
The issue has not only compromised car deliveries across the industry, has also plagued the wider consumer goods market – particularly in the realm of electronics.
Tesla has partly fared better than other automakers, partly because its engineers have been able to rewrite software to adapt to whatever chips they could find for other purposes.
As a frontrunner in the burgeoning EV market, with major global economies looking to phase out petrol and diesel vehicle production over the next two decades, it has also managed to sustain continued consumer and shareholder appetite.
The company doesn’t disclose results by geography, but US and China are its largest markets and the bulk of sales were of the Model 3 and Y.
Currently, Tesla makes the Model S, X, 3 and Y at its factory in California, and the Model 3 and Y at its plant in Shanghai.
In 2022, the car giant will boost production capacity with two new factories opening in Austin, Texas and Berlin.
The expansion in production capabilities will be key to Tesla reaching its production targets, with the company expecting 50 per cent annual increases in deliveries over a multi-year period.
Chief executive and world’s richest person Elon Musk has promised to provide an update on Tesla’s new product plans during the company’s next earnings call.
Tesla also moved its headquarters to Texas from California last year, confirming the relocation at the beginning of December 2021.