Tesla shares soared Thursday before the automaker said it delivered about 90,650 vehicles in the second quarter, easily beating Wall Street expectations as sales by the electric car maker weathered the economic downturn better than the most competitors.
Analysts had expected Tesla to deliver about 72,000 vehicles in the past three months, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by FactSet. A broader set of analyst estimates, compiled by Bloomberg, set higher expectations: 83,000 vehicle deliveries in the second quarter.
Tesla shares rose nearly 9% to $ 1,219.02 on Thursday’s prior market, a day after closing 3.7% higher at $ 1,119.63.
Deliveries are the closest approximation to Tesla’s reported sales numbers, and the electric car maker’s numbers held up significantly better than its competitors. Tesla deliveries fell just 4.8% from the same quarter last year, even as car sales worldwide, and especially in the U.S., plummeted during the quarter after outbreaks of Covid-19 led to health restrictions on homes, travel and businesses, mass layoffs, and pay cuts.
General Motors, Toyota Motor, Fiat Chrysler and Ford saw their second-quarter sales drop by more than 30%, as the coronavirus caused consumers to stay home and dealerships and factories closed.
Tesla reported combined deliveries of 80,050 Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs, and combined deliveries of 10,600 of the older and more expensive Model S and X vehicles.
The delivery data comes a day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email congratulating his tens of thousands of employees for their “incredible” execution “in such difficult times.”
In the first quarter of 2020, Tesla said it manufactured more vehicles than it sold with 102,672 units produced and 88,400 delivered. During the second quarter of 2019, Tesla said it manufactured 87,048 vehicles, including 72,531 3 models, and delivered 95,200, including 77,550 3 models.
During the second quarter, Tesla had to shut down its main US auto plant in Fremont, California for several weeks due to orders from local health officials who forced the closure of the coronavirus. It drastically cut pay for salaried workers and delayed employee increases, promotions and bonuses until after a performance review due to be completed in late July.
Musk clashed with local health authorities over the restrictions. It also downplayed the severity and prevalence of Covid-19 in the U.S., despite delaying Battery Day and the company’s shareholders meeting until September, citing safety for crowds against the coronavirus.
In the U.S., Tesla also faced two new federal safety probes, one for a problem with its vehicle displays and the other for a cooling system in its older Model S vehicles out of concern for a risk of fire.
To fuel demand for the company’s electric vehicles, Tesla cut vehicle prices during the second quarter in North America and China.
However, its Shanghai auto plant quickly returned to business after a coronavirus-related shutdown. Sales in China began to pick up with the company that sold 11,095 models 3 made in Shanghai there in May, according to data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association.
Tesla did not report how many of these vehicles were produced at Fremont or its relatively new Shanghai auto assembly plant.
On Wednesday, before its delivery report, Tesla’s valuation surpassed that of Toyota. However, the sales of the American automaker are a small fraction of its Japanese competitor. In 2019, Tesla reported deliveries of 367,500 vehicles worldwide, while Toyota reported sales that were 29 times higher with 10.74 million units.
Tesla was expected to meet or exceed street expectations for quarterly deliveries because Musk has been sending “Everyone” emails to Tesla employees, stating how the company is doing and typically leaking to the press.
He sent one of these emails around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. M. (Pacific Time) to Tesla employees with the subject “Congratulations to the Tesla team!”. The email read, in its entirety: “It is amazing how well you performed it, especially in such difficult times. I am very proud to work with you!”
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