This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, Tesla delivered 95,200 vehicles between April and June, surpassing Wall Street estimates and setting a new record for vehicle deliveries in one quarter.
The electric-car maker's second-quarter delivery numbers were subject to intense scrutiny, as deliveries fell 31% between the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of this year. Tesla attributed the decline to issues with delivery logistics and seasonal demand, but some argued that demand for the company's vehicles was lower than projected.
"Investors feared everyone that wanted an EV had already bought one and deliveries would continue to fall," Gene Munster, a managing partner at Loup Ventures, wrote in a note on Thursday. "Today's record-high Model 3 production and deliveries should largely put an end to those fears. It's clear that demand is strong and growing as they continue to enter new markets."
However, the strong delivery numbers raise a question that will be answered when Tesla releases its second-quarter earnings: Did the company sacrifice profits to boost sales? Since the end of the first quarter, Tesla has cut the price of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV while making Autopilot, a driver-assistance system, standard on all of its vehicles.
"I think what everyone's now concerned about is, well, did you sacrifice profit for volume?" said David Whiston, an automotive analyst at Morningstar.
