Tesla mentioned Monday that it offered a file 1.3 million automobiles final 12 months, however the quantity fell wanting CEO Elon Musk’s pledge to develop the corporate’s gross sales by 50% almost yearly.
The 2022 determine topped the prior file of 936,000 automobiles delivered in 2021, but it surely was shy of the 1.4 million wanted to succeed in the corporate’s 50% development goal. Gross sales grew 40% 12 months over 12 months, whereas manufacturing climbed 47% to 1.37 million.
The shortfall got here regardless of a serious year-end gross sales push that included uncommon $7,500 discounts within the U.S. on the Fashions Y and three, the corporate’s top-selling fashions.
Tesla Inc., which is predicated in Austin, Texas, additionally needed to cope with rising instances of the novel coronavirus in China, which minimize into manufacturing at its Shanghai manufacturing unit.
With the additional U.S. push, Tesla delivered greater than 405,000 automobiles worldwide within the fourth quarter. However that missed Wall Road projections. Analysts polled by information supplier FactSet anticipated 427,000 deliveries from October by means of December and 1.33 million for the complete 12 months.
“An ideal 2022”
“Thanks to all of our clients, workers, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us obtain an important 2022 in mild of serious COVID and supply-chain associated challenges all year long,” the electrical car and photo voltaic panel firm mentioned Monday.
Tesla did not roll out any new fashions final 12 months, and it is going through rising competitors from legacy automakers and startups similar to Lucid and Rivian, that are frequently introducing new electrical automobiles.
However Musk has promised to start out producing the long-awaited Cybertruck electrical pickup this 12 months. The corporate additionally has began delivering its electrical semis.
The reductions, provided over the last two weeks of the 12 months, raised questions on whether or not demand was softening for Tesla merchandise because the Federal Reserve raised rates of interest to fight inflation.
That, coupled with Musk’s conduct after his $44 billion buy of Twitter, helped to push Tesla shares down greater than 65% final 12 months, bumping Musk out of the highest spot for the world’s wealthiest individual, in keeping with Forbes.
The corporate’s inventory decline for the 12 months, its worst ever, was greater than triple the drop within the S&P 500, which was down 19.4%.
Musk wrote on Twitter Dec. 30 that the corporate’s long-term fundamentals are robust, however “short-term market insanity” is unpredictable.
Some traders are apprehensive that Twitter has distracted Musk from the automobile firm. Musk mentioned final month that he plans to stay as Twitter’s CEO till he can discover somebody willing to replace him within the job.