Tesla set a new record with 343,830 electric vehicles delivered in the third quarter

Shawn Knight

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What just happened? With Covid-related restrictions largely in the rearview, Tesla was able to ramp up production and deliveries in the third quarter. For the three-month period ending September 30, the electric automaker produced 365,923 vehicles – up 54 percent compared to the 237,823 units that rolled off the assembly line during the same period a year ago.

Deliveries, meanwhile, increased 42 percent year over year from 241,300 models to 343,830 models. It is a new quarterly record for the EV maker despite falling short of analysts' expectations. Refinitiv analysts expecting 359,162 deliveries and those with Street Account were anticipating 364,660 deliveries.

Broken down further, Model 3 and Model Y vehicles accounted for the lion's share of production and deliveries – 345,988 and 325,158, respectively. A combined 19,935 Model S and Model X vehicles accounted for the remaining production capacity, and 18,672 of these models were delivered to customers during the three-month period.

Tesla highlighted a recent change that aims to make the delivery process smoother. Traditionally, delivery volume has skewed towards the end of each quarter but as production volume continues to grow, it has become increasingly difficult to secure vehicle transportation capacity at a reasonable cost during these peak logistics periods.

In the third quarter, Tesla started transitioning to a more even mix of weekly vehicle builds in hopes of reducing the transit bottleneck at the end of each quarter.

Tesla shares are down 6.55 percent to $247.88 in trading as of this writing on the news.

The EV maker saw deliveries drop sharply last quarter due to Covid-related shutdowns in China and supply chain issues. For the three-month period ending June 30, Tesla tallied just 254,695 vehicle deliveries. In August, CEO Elon Musk said the company had produced over three million vehicles to date with a third of them coming directly from its Shanghai factory in China.

Tesla is expected to share financial results for the third quarter after the market closes on October 19, 2022.

Image credit: Makara Heng

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It will be interesting to see how Tesla deals with the new EV's coming out from Toyota & US manufacturers, especially since nearly all of them will be coming in well under Tesla's price point (in some cases, less than half).
 
It will be interesting to see how Tesla deals with the new EV's coming out from Toyota & US manufacturers, especially since nearly all of them will be coming in well under Tesla's price point (in some cases, less than half).

In the short-term, the new $7k EV tax credit will be a godsend. While it doesn't help many other manufacturers (who still qualified under the old system), it makes it easier for Tesla to compete. And, in the short-term, be extremely competitive with ICE vehicles.

So, even if they aren't doing great against other EV's, they can still take market share away from ICE vehicles while trying to figure out how to stay competitive with newcomers.

Plus, EV makers have been pretty successful at lobbying for tax credits at the state level (NY just passed their credit; CA & MA have long had them). This all puts the problem you addressed into a more long-term issue than short-term one.
 
In the short-term, the new $7k EV tax credit will be a godsend. While it doesn't help many other manufacturers (who still qualified under the old system), it makes it easier for Tesla to compete. And, in the short-term, be extremely competitive with ICE vehicles.

So, even if they aren't doing great against other EV's, they can still take market share away from ICE vehicles while trying to figure out how to stay competitive with newcomers.

Plus, EV makers have been pretty successful at lobbying for tax credits at the state level (NY just passed their credit; CA & MA have long had them). This all puts the problem you addressed into a more long-term issue than short-term one.
Maybe I'm misreading your comment, but it makes little sense to me. It would make more sense if you were talking about outside the US (especially Europe), but you're talking about American subsidies.

Tesla's problem isn't reducing the price of their vehicles because they're making almost 30% gross margins on their vehicles and almost 15% operating margins (both are very high in auto). The changes to the EV tax credit will probably cause Tesla to further increase their prices in order to not exacerbate the demand issue. Also three months ago in Q2, Tesla had nearly 70% of the new EV market in the US. I'm not sure how you believe newcomers are relatively competitive when Tesla is literally selling twice as many vehicles as the rest of the EV market combined. They increased prices because they have the dominate position even while decreasing their costs over the years (otherwise it'd be like throwing away money and causing long wait times for customers).
 
Now, just think of all those coal & NG plants working like crazy to keep them all charged - spewing vast amounts of pollution and CO2. Too bad green energy is a LIE today!
 
In the short-term, the new $7k EV tax credit will be a godsend. While it doesn't help many other manufacturers (who still qualified under the old system), it makes it easier for Tesla to compete. And, in the short-term, be extremely competitive with ICE vehicles.
Unfortunately, the credit will require that most components are made in the US, so I am not so sure how well it will be received or used in the US.
So, even if they aren't doing great against other EV's, they can still take market share away from ICE vehicles while trying to figure out how to stay competitive with newcomers.

Plus, EV makers have been pretty successful at lobbying for tax credits at the state level (NY just passed their credit; CA & MA have long had them). This all puts the problem you addressed into a more long-term issue than short-term one.
I'll have to look at those. My present plans are to buy a plug-in at some point in the not-too-distant future.
 
Now, just think of all those coal & NG plants working like crazy to keep them all charged - spewing vast amounts of pollution and CO2. Too bad green energy is a LIE today!
If those lies were true lies, then there'd be a modicum of truth to your post. I'm sure these links will elicit a TL;DR response from you and others so read them if you really want to know the truth. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment/
From the last article
The total impact of electric vehicles is more pronounced when looking at their complete lifetime, where combustion engine vehicles are unable to compete. EVs are responsible for considerably lower emissions over their lifetime than vehicles running on fossil fuels, regardless of the source that generates the electricity .
and
A new study by the Center for Economic Studies (CES) in Munich proclaimed: “Germany’s current energy mix and the amount of energy used in battery production, the CO2 emissions of battery-electric vehicles are, in the best case, slightly higher than those of a diesel engine, and are otherwise much higher.”

Although it may seem like a damning indictment on electric vehicle performance, the paper was quickly debunked by industry experts, who found a long list of inaccuracies with the CES’s findings. Apart from laying out previously discredited information such as electric car batteries becoming “hazardous waste” after 150,000 km, or misrepresenting government data to fit their research, the study also painted ICEV emissions as lower than the reality.
Its far more likely that those telling you EVs are worse than ICEVs for emissions are the ones lying to you.
 
If those lies were true lies, then there'd be a modicum of truth to your post. I'm sure these links will elicit a TL;DR response from you and others so read them if you really want to know the truth. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment/
From the last article

and

Its far more likely that those telling you EVs are worse than ICEVs for emissions are the ones lying to you.

But, electric cars aren't the answer. They only help with asthma and respiratory illnesses.
They harm the planet getting the battery JuJu from whatever location.
Musk wants more people on the planet. Which he's a genius so must be right. Cause cars don't fkn suck ***.
If you want a greener planet you need to transport people better on electric vehicles, like oh trains.
This is just more bs capitalism.
Roads get fuller, more cars will end up in landfill and junkers. I'm not convinced that this is the way forward.
Etch a sketch your cities and towns and make them more futuristic, clinical and dull.
And make roads flat with his Bore-ing company. Go thru, go straight. Think Roman. Think toga orgy. Think A to B.
Take the good ideas we have had and execute them better. Rather than sell people new guff that isn't gonna help long term.
 
Maybe I'm misreading your comment, but it makes little sense to me. It would make more sense if you were talking about outside the US (especially Europe), but you're talking about American subsidies.

Tesla's problem isn't reducing the price of their vehicles because they're making almost 30% gross margins on their vehicles and almost 15% operating margins (both are very high in auto). The changes to the EV tax credit will probably cause Tesla to further increase their prices in order to not exacerbate the demand issue. Also three months ago in Q2, Tesla had nearly 70% of the new EV market in the US. I'm not sure how you believe newcomers are relatively competitive when Tesla is literally selling twice as many vehicles as the rest of the EV market combined. They increased prices because they have the dominate position even while decreasing their costs over the years (otherwise it'd be like throwing away money and causing long wait times for customers).
Tesla's EV marketshare has been steadily shrinking (2019, 78.1%; 2021, 66%). I was responding to Uncle Al's assertion about competitors (which is a credible assumption).

Your comment is conflating the short-term with long-term viability. Being first-to-market gives you a short term advantage but it's not a guarantee of long term success (something Tesla is aware of; hence them expanding their Shanghai plant).

My main point is the tax credit will give them time to deal with increased EV competition (and maintain their profit margins) by being more competitive against ICE vehicles. The EV market is growing rapidly. A smaller market share is not a bad thing. But there does come a point where they'd be usurped by new competitors that outpace them in R&D.

And I highly doubt they increased prices to adjust to market demand. Especially considering how much PR Musk has put into making them cheaper. The supply side of the equation (inflation) forced their hand on nominal prices (with a little extra from a menu pricing perspective).
 
Exciting news.
I'm also encouraged by the CEO's recent words of wisdom.
If I understand him correctly, all I have to do now to get a Model 3 is:
1. wait for my neighbour to buy one
2. carjack it and systematically "eject" anyone inside
3. load it up with my own family
4. do a (supervised!) snap poll amongst the current occupants on who the car belongs to
5. enjoy the "peace" of my free new Tesla
 
But, electric cars aren't the answer. They only help with asthma and respiratory illnesses.
They harm the planet getting the battery JuJu from whatever location.
If you read the quote in my post, you should have learned that this "battery JuJu" as you put it, has been debunked in the context of EVs vs ICErs on the topic of which pollutes more. Aside from that, better batteries and chemistries are on the horizon. IMO, its a human trait to think that everything will stay the same. As I see it, nothing is farther from the truth in the EV world.

Musk wants more people on the planet.
That's not entirely true based on Musk's comments about wanting to populate Mars.

Which he's a genius so must be right.
Musk's "qualifications" as genius are highly debatable based on the fact that he has said he is going to do so many things that he has yet to accomplish or even come close to accomplishing. Take that going to Mars thing - he said 2022 was the year. No f'n way Musk will pull that off. For Musk, 3022 is more like it for him to get to Mars, IMO.

Cause cars don't fkn suck ***.
If you want a greener planet you need to transport people better on electric vehicles, like oh trains.
That was tried in many places in the US. People adopted cars instead.

This is just more bs capitalism.
When you have a better system, let us know. You will get no argument from me that Capitalism is crap and driving the world to crap.

I'm not convinced that this is the way forward.
I'm not either. But humanity tends toward stupidity. Making mistakes is and has been the only way that humanity figures out how to do things better.

Etch a sketch your cities and towns and make them more futuristic, clinical and dull.
And make roads flat with his Bore-ing company. Go thru, go straight. Think Roman. Think toga orgy. Think A to B.
IMO, modeling the society that brought us flush toilets and excessively large and wasteful waste treatment plants, not to mention, lead drinking cups, is not the way to go. Crap is a great fertilizer, but instead of composting, most of humanity flushes it into everyone else's back yard.
Take the good ideas we have had and execute them better.
That's the normal way humanity progresses. Even though you may not see it now, I see that it is what is happening with EVs.
Rather than sell people new guff that isn't gonna help long term.
That's an Earth shattering change, and unlikely to happen unless humanity wakes up.
 
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