Tesla published its production and delivery report for the first quarter of 2023. The electric car manufacturer led by Elon Musk appears to be having a great start this year as it set a record-high number of deliveries, with 422,875 EVs delivered for Q1.
Tesla Beats Expectations With New Deliveries, Production Record
According to Elektrek, the consensus among financial analysts is that Tesla should be able to deliver around 420,000 car units during the first three months of the year. Based on the latest stat shared by Tesla, the company was able to beat every expectation with its 422,875 deliveries in Q1 2023. The report also shows that the EV maker led by Elon Musk also achieved another record quantity of 440,808 vehicles in terms of production.
The latest number from Tesla shows a 36 percent improvement from its Q1 deliveries last year, which amounted to 310,048. Meanwhile, there is a 4 percent increase when comparing the current tally with the reported 405,278 deliveries for Q4 2022, as per Engadget.
The data for Q1 reveals that out of Tesla's 422,875 deliveries, the Model 3 and Model Y units comprised a huge chunk of this number. The combined deliveries by the end of March for these 2 models amounted to 412,180. This part of the report is already expected since these models are Tesla's less expensive EVs.
Going to the high-end offerings of Tesla, particularly the Model S and Model X, the Q1 report shows that the combined total of deliveries for these units is 10,695. This is where Tesla experienced a dip as the reported Model S and Model X delivery total for Q4 2022 is 17,147.
The record-high deliveries enjoyed by Tesla for the first 3 months of 2023 can be attributed to the recent price cuts for most of the units. For example, the company slashed the price of the five-seater Model Y from $65,990 to $52,990 in January. However, Tesla slightly bumped the price up to $54,990 after almost a month. Recently, the company offered price cuts for the Model S and Model X units, with up to a $10,000 decrease.
Tesla will release the full sales report for Q1 2023 on April 19.
Related Article: Tesla Slashes Prices for Model S, Model X in the US Up to 9%
Uncertainty Remains Whether Increase in Demand Makes Up for Tesla Price Cuts
According to Business Insider, Tesla's decision to bring down the price of its less expensive lineup in January effectively increased the demand for the units. However, it is a little bit early to say if the current increase in demand is enough to offset the price drop.
Business Insider further noted that the aggressive price cuts on Tesla models might not just be for competition with other EV manufacturers in the United States. The company might be targeting to conquer the automotive industry as a whole.
As per Seth Goldstein, Morningstar's resident analyst, "Tesla's competition isn't just other EV makers, it's other carmakers." Specifically, Tesla could be setting up Model 3 to compete with other sedan models, while the Model Y is for SUVs.
