Tesla delivered just over 250,000 cars in the second quarter of the year, compared to over 310,000 in the previous period. The manufacturer remained on a sustainable growth.
Tesla ended up being overtaken by the covid. While many industries have to deal with the global shortage of components (including the automotive sector), the American manufacturer had managed to maintain a surprising increase. It was materialized by a delivery record broken in each quarter since 2020. It has just ended, Tesla announced in a press release published on July 2.
The multinational delivered “only” 254,695 vehicles between April and June, against 310,048 between January and March. This 18% drop puts an end to a series of nine delivery records broken in a row. Production has suffered in recent weeks, with 258,580 cars rolling out of factories (compared to 305,407).
Tesla caught up by the Covid-19
Evolution of first-half deliveries :
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st trimester | 202088,496 | 2021184,877 (+109%) | 2022295,324 (+60%) |
| 2nd trimester | 202090 891 | 2021201,304 (+121%) | 2022254,695 (+27%) |
As this table shows, Tesla recorded a better second quarter in 2022 than in 2021, but in lesser proportions compared to the previous period (+ 27% against + 60%).
This decline in deliveries was to be expected given the current economic situation. Those who regularly look at the online configurator know that the delays are only getting longer. A member of Humanoid, the group that publishes Numerama, for example ordered a Model 3 in April, and the date of receipt has just moved from September to a more distant and uncertain period (November-January 2023). He is not the only one to be in this case, as evidenced by other people gathered on Facebook in a group called Tesla Owner Club, to which Numerama has access. Ordering a Model 3 today does not guarantee delivery before January-March 2023.
Tesla openly quotes ” factory shutdowns beyond its control to explain these declining numbers. The company expected to experience an end of quarter crazy to compensate for the restrictions applied in China due to the resurgence of cases linked to the coronavirus – and that was obviously not enough. Responsible for supplying the Asian and European markets with Model 3 and Model Y, the Gigafactory installed in Shanghai was closed for several days. And since it is a large factory (annual capacity exceeding 450,000 units), a forced interruption of activities is a big brake for Tesla.