Tesla set to achieve 50% production growth for third year
Tesla has only a few weeks left to achieve its goal of delivering 80,000 cars in 2016. The automaker delivered 55,000 cars in the first three quarters of the year, leaving around 25,000 cars for delivery in Q4. Due to the company’s cyclical delivery process, the company often pushes for deliveries at the very end of a quarter, and this December is no exception. The company is set to achieve its goal, and if it does so, this means that the automaker was able to maintain an over 50% growth rate for the past three years—something that hasn’t been done by a car manufacturer for decades.
Tesla only has a few weeks left in order to achieve its goal to deliver 80,000 vehicles in 2016. The automaker delivered ~55,000 cars during the first 3 quarters of the year, leaving ~25,000 vehicles to be delivered in October through December in order to reach the goal. In its latest shareholders letter, the company wrote that it was aiming for “just over 25,000 deliveries”.

Due to its cyclical delivery process, the company is often pushing for deliveries at the very end of the quarter and this month is no exception. Tesla is reportedly in full delivery mode at several locations around the world in order to deliver the few thousand vehicles left to reach the 80,000 mark.

We received reports of large inventories of vehicles that have recently been delivered to several Tesla stores. The automaker’s deliveries in Europe have been slow over the past 2 month; December will have to be strong in order for Tesla to hit its goal, or US deliveries will have to compensate.

The US is Tesla’s most stable market, where the Model S dominates the large luxury sedan segment and the Model X is making gains in the luxury SUV segment. A strong quarter in the US generally means a strong quarter for the company.

Yesterday, Model S owner Zubin Anary stopped by the Tesla store in Dublin, California, and counted over 72 new brand new cars on the lot.

Several of those cars are already sold and getting ready to be delivered since the date to custom order and get a delivery by the end of the year is already passed, but others are inventory cars waiting to be sold. We’ve received similar reports from other locations, primarily in California and on the east coast.

Tesla recently pushed its new car deliveries in the US to March 2017, which would indicate that Tesla is now focusing on producing and delivering cars already ordered and on selling inventory cars in order to achieve its delivery goal.

As Zubin was leaving, more truckloads of Tesla vehicles arrived.

Tesla is currently listing over 500 inventory and certified pre-owned vehicles for sale in the US.

We should see the delivery effort intensify in the coming weeks and Tesla will confirm its total deliveries for the quarter within 3 days after the new year. If Tesla achieves its goal, it will mean that the automaker was able to maintain an over 50% growth rate for the past 3 years – something that hasn’t been done by an automaker in decades.

Image credit: Zubin Anary (referral link for $1,000 discount on Tesla purchase)