Nonetheless Teslain (NASDAQ: TSLA) stocks have recently fallen, stocks are still up almost 700% since the beginning of 2020. To keep investors excited about the electric car company’s future, therefore, Tesla needs to continue demonstrating its ability to grow quickly. After all, the growth stock has the price of sales in rapid growth, not only this year, but in the years to come.
Fortunately, Tesla’s recently released first quarter vehicle delivery report did not disappoint. The automaker not only reported higher deliveries than in any previous quarter, but it far exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Image source: Tesla.
A record, Q1
Tesla was able to deliver approximately 184,800 vehicles in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 109% year on year and 2% sequentially.
Almost all of its deliveries were either its Model 3 or its Model Y, the company’s two cheapest vehicles. Deliveries of the S and X Models have almost stopped, as Tesla has introduced new versions of the vehicles and their production is still in its early stages.
Tesla delivered 182,780 vehicles of the combined Model 3 and Y, representing a growth of 140% year on year. The combined deliveries of the Model S and X of 2,020, however, fell from more than 12,000 deliveries S and X in the period of the previous year.
Model Y was probably the main catalyst for Tesla’s vehicle sales growth during the quarter. Tesla started producing its Model Y for the first time at its factory in China during the fourth quarter of 2020.
“We are encouraged by the strong reception of the Model Y in China and are rapidly progressing to full production capacity,” said management in Tesla’s first quarter delivery update.
In addition, although deliveries of the Model S and X fell dramatically, Tesla had good news about the two major major vehicles. “The new Model S and Model X were also exceptionally well received,” said the company, “with the new equipment installed and tested in the first quarter and we are in the early stages of ramp production.”
Analysts, on average, expected total quarterly deliveries to be close to 170,000.
Vehicle production at Tesla plant. Image source: The Motley Fool.
Just beginning
While Tesla’s first quarter deliveries were impressive, they will only increase in the coming quarters if the company executes according to plan. In Tesla’s fourth-quarter update earlier this year, management said it expects to deliver more than 750,000 vehicles in 2021. To achieve this, the automaker will need an average of nearly 188,000 deliveries per quarter.
While it is always possible for Tesla to face some unexpected challenges, such a strong first quarter suggests that the company can easily achieve its goal this year. The addition of Model Y production at its Shanghai plant and the expected contribution of new production lines in Germany and Texas in late 2021 should provide more than enough production capacity for Tesla to surpass its orientation.
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