Tesla delivers record EVs amid federal tax credits, price cuts

Tesla has topped Wall Street delivery estimates in the second quarter of 2023 as the automaker’s many price cuts and the Biden administration’s federal electric vehicle tax credits take effect.

The Elon Musk-owned EV-maker reported record global production of 479,000 units and record deliveries of 466,140. That’s up 10% from the 422,875 Tesla EVs delivered in the first quarter, and up 83% year-over-year. Analysts and investors look to delivery numbers over production numbers because they are more indicative of true sales numbers, which Tesla doesn’t release.

Tesla delivered far more Model 3 and Y vehicles than its more expensive Model S and X vehicles. In total, Tesla delivered 460,211 Model 3 and Y units and 19,489 Model S and X units. The automaker said 5% of its sales were subject to lease accounting.

About half of those deliveries came likely from Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. The CPCA hasn’t released sales numbers for June yet, but Tesla delivered 75,842 China-made EVs in April and 77,695 in May. Roughly 82,610 of those vehicles in total were delivered to mainland China in April and May.

In the second quarter in the U.S., Tesla’s Model 3 vehicles joined its other models in being eligible for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.

While Tesla’s price cuts in the U.S., China and other countries indicate that the strategy is helping boost sales, investors will want to see how the cuts have affected margins. In the first quarter, the decreases in price did affect the company’s bottom line — Tesla reported a 24% drop in net income compared to the same period a year before.

We’ll see come earnings day. Tesla said it will release second quarter earnings after the bell on July 19.